Taming Hemingway
by LeSass
Summary: AU season 2/3-follows canon: Rory has to go to an anger management group for her class. Jess has to go because he can't pay for the damages at school from his last fight. At first Rory can't stand him, but when Jess ends up in Stars Hollow, things quickly change. Soon Rory sees that there's more to Jess than she realized, and it isn't long before their unlikely friendship heats up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own the characters, and any references that are similar to the show will be credited as they come.

* * *

Rory flung open the door to her home, dragging herself to the kitchen.

She tosses her book bag down on the floor and flops onto the chair at the kitchen table.

"Good day, hon?" Her mother quips, turning around with a sweet smile.

Rory grumbles and crosses her arms.

"I have to go to anger management."

"Because you finally realized that you want to fight your battles with words, not fists?"

"Very funny, Ann Martin."

"I try to keep up with the best of them."

Rory pouts, pulling her binder out of her backpack as Lorelai sits down across from her, coffee and poptarts in hand.

"So that's what you got for your social engagement class, huh?" She asks sympathetically, pushing over a poptart to Rory as a peace offering.

Rory grabs the poptart and pops it into her mouth as she opens the binder on the table.

"Yeah, I was really hoping to get Alcoholics Anonymous or something with less…" Rory trails off, trying to find a word.

"Anger?" Lorelai offers, sipping her coffee.

"Yeah," Rory admits, scanning her assignment before handing it over to her mom.

"I mean, I guess it won't be all bad," she says, shrugging. "Maybe there won't be any outbursts or anything."

Lorelai's eyes light up as she reads the paper aloud.

"'Make note of any particular power struggles between group members and how they're resolved.' Hey, maybe you can use some of this shrinky stuff on Luke!"

Rory raises her eyebrows and chuckles.

"First of all it's not shrinky stuff, and second of all, Luke doesn't need anger management, he just needs to live in a soundproof bubble where Taylor can't reach him," she giggles, snatching the paper out of Lorelai's hands.

"Yeah, well, don't we all," Lorelai sighs, frowning down at her empty coffee mug.

"So when do you have to start going?" She continues, getting up to pour herself another mug full. She gestures towards Rory with the pot and Rory nods.

"Next week," she explains, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Thanks!" She chirps, taking the coffee gratefully from her mom.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but there really aren't a lot that are nearby," Rory explains thoughtfully, chewing on her poptart. "And my teacher expects a lot out of us because she's also a Professor at a university, so she doesn't really care if it's far away."

"How far is far away?" Lorelai asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"She recommended the Intrepid Center in Norwalk," Rory grumbles, wincing at her mom's reaction.

"Rory! That's a far ride," Lorelai protests, grabbing the paper back from Rory's clutches. "There isn't anywhere closer than that? One that's just as good for your project?"

"Not really. Apparently they've all had to be approved to have a high school student sit in on the groups. They're supposed to be closed to anyone who isn't a social work student in college. It's slim pickings," Rory admits, staring down at her coffee.

"And there's nothing you can do to get another assignment, huh?" Lorelai asks, trying not to sound so defensive. Norwalk was nearly an hour away driving, and Rory had only recently started using the jeep a few months back.

"It's pretty frowned upon."

"And you have to go how many days a week?"

"Two, but I don't know which days yet because I have to pick an anger management group. I can either choose a Tuesday, Thursday all men's group or a Monday, Wednesday all women's group."

"Okay, well, honestly the men's group would be better with my hours at the inn, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you going to a place with a bunch of angry dudes," Lorelai sighs softly, giving Rory her best worried mom look.

"But they're going there to learn to control their anger, mom. Besides, I get enough of angry women from working with Paris every day," Rory points out, picking at her poptart.

"True. Well, if you're really okay with it, we'll figure the Jeep out."

"Thanks mom!" Rory exclaims gratefully, offering her a winning smile. "Besides, I've heard the men's group students tend to do well on their papers."

Lorelai smiles back and places her hand over Rory's, squeezing lightly.

"No problem, kid. Just make sure you don't get hit by anymore deer."

"That was _one_ time!"

"Yeah, but I heard that the Intrepid Center is where Santa sends Rudolph to blow off steam when the others won't let him play any reindeer games."

"Are you done?"

"Imagine, he wants to play _Candyland_ but the others want _Monopoly_ , and suddenly he storms out and sees our car and he says to himself, 'I'll pass Go alright - on your hood! And then BAM -"

"I'm going to study now," Rory deadpans, squinting her eyes menacingly at her mom as she pushes herself away from the table.

"Or Bambi, you know, having to deal with his mother's death and all, he might come out in a blind rage, angry at the world and there you are in your Jeep, innocent and unsuspecting!" Lorelai calls, pacing after her daughter.

"Go away!"

* * *

"No."

"Jess, you don't really have a choice," the principal deadpans, folding his hands together on his desk.

"I'd rather pay for the damages," Jess groans, running his hands through his hair.

"With what money?" His mother quips from next to him, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows. "'Cause I don't got it, Jess, you know that."

"I'll take the suspension," he counters, looking at his principal.

" _No_ , he will not," His mother insists, looking away from her son.

"Then I'll pick up a second job, Liz," he bargains, looking at her with eyes that betray his too-cool-for-this attitude. They're pleading a little, rebelling a lot.

"Jess, I think this might be a good thing," Liz offers, leaning over to rest her hand on his knee. "Maybe you'll stop getting into fights-"

" _Harrison_ started it, I didn't slam myself into the trophy case," he snarls.

" _Yes_ ," his principal interrupts, gesturing towards the door. "And Harrison didn't put his own face through the glass. He is being given the same ultimatum as you."

Jess raises his eyebrows and his eyes widen a little.

"Yeah and that little shit's parents are loaded, they can afford to replace half of the school's floors if they wanted," Jess protests, crossing his arms smugly over his chest.

"Language," Liz warns, earning her an eyeroll from her son.

"While that might be true, I didn't give one of you an option that I didn't give the other," his principal says dully. Jess swears he can see the hint of a smirk playing at his lips and wishes he could deck the guy.

"Further," he continues, "Harrison will still have to complete 10 hours of anger management on a different day than when you are expected to."

Jess taps his leg impatiently, side eyeing Liz. She gives him a defeated look and crosses her arms over her chest.

"C'mon, Jess, this way you'll stay out of trouble," Liz urges.

"Trouble finds me," he mutters, looking at his feet. He glances at his mother and is met with big, sad eyes.

It makes him nauseous to see her looking at him like that. He didn't like his mom a lot, but he also knew that this was just as embarrassing for her as it was for him, knowing they couldn't afford to contribute to replacing the trophy case. It also made him nauseous when anyone made puppy dog eyes to get what they wanted, and at this point, he just wanted to get the hell out of this office.

"Fine."

"Really?" Liz can't hold back her surprise or her excitement. She'd wanted Jess to get his fighting under control for the last year.

"I _said_ , fine."

"Great," his principal chirps, grabbing a folder from a stack of papers. Jess glares at his smug smile, grinding his teeth to keep from saying anything.

"I can give the Intrepid Center a call today," his principal continues, matching Jess's glare with a sickeningly sweet smile. "The group is Tuesday's and Thursday's from 5:30 to 7. You'll be expected to stay until 7:30 for a personalized session depending on which day you choose."

"That's three hours a week!" Jess protests, flying up from his seat.

"It's either that or you do less hours each week and cut into your summer time, too," the principal shrugs, giving Jess a bored look. "It's up to you whether you want to waste the summer after you graduate having to check in here every week."

If looks could kill, Jess would have murdered his principal several times already. If it wasn't for Liz and her jovial mood and active stance as a witness, he might have tried.

"Three hours is just fine, Principal Jeffreys, isn't it Jess?" Liz says suddenly, breaking up the intense stare happening between her son and the school principal. She looks intently at Jess, who balls his hands into fists before shoving them into his pocket.

"Whatever," he growls, walking towards the door.

"You start next week!" Principal Jeffreys calls after him.

Liz scrambles to get up and grabs Jess's folder from the principal. She was really hopeful that this would help Jess, that he wouldn't become reckless like his father. She wanted nothing more than to see the kid do more for himself than she could for him.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Jess," Principal Jeffreys says with a smile, looking smug as ever as Jess grabbed the doorknob, opening the entryway to freedom from the office.

He turns and looks at him casually, smirking.

"For you, a thousand times over," he says sarcastically, waving the principal off. Liz thanks the principal before scurrying behind Jess, rambling something about turning over a new leaf and the good feeling she had.

Principal Jeffreys frowns, shaking his head. Not even a week before Jess had sat in his office, being lectured by his English teacher about how he never read for class. Jess had sat there with a smug look on his face, his only comment that he wasn't going to read any of the lame readings they were forcing down his throat.

Jess's departing words were a challenge, and had Principal Jeffreys not personally read and approved all of the curriculum, he might have missed that. Jess had basically just wasted his time that day, he saw that now.

"I don't understand why he can memorize lines from his required readings but can't turn in a single Goddamn assignment," he mutters before busying himself with anything but thoughts of the Mariano kid.

* * *

 **AN** : This is a slight alternative universe. Rory will not meet Jess in the traditional way, but they will still connect with other aspects of the canon storyline. I'm not planning on changing familial relations, mostly just how folks meet. I'm pretty excited for this story. Thanks in advance for any feedback :)


	2. Chapter 2

Monday afternoon found Rory a nervous wreck.

She wasn't nervous about going on the assignment tomorrow, per se, but she had serious reservations about discussing it with Dean. Dean was great, but Dean was protective, and she couldn't think of a time she'd had a project involving men that he'd been supportive of.

She groaned thinking back to the year before, when she and her classmate Tristan were meant to kiss in a Romeo and Juliet skit. Dean had been less than cool about it, giving Tristan dirty looks and hovering over them during rehearsal. Granted, Tristan had instigated a lot, but it really wasn't her proudest moment of being Dean's girlfriend.

Rory looks at the town square, then at her watch, and again at the town square. She hadn't been able to focus all day at school waiting for the inevitable fight. It was nearly 3:00 now, and she knows that any minute Dean will find her on their bench.

Suddenly his tall, sweet frame comes into her peripherals and she stands up, immediately offering him a smile, peck on the lips, and the second cup of Luke's coffee she'd been holding.

"Hey, you," she says with a smile, fidgeting a little as he sits next to her, draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Hey," Dean returns with an equally big smile, taking a sip of his coffee.

"So how was your day?" Rory starts, leaning into her boyfriend. Her heart is beating a mile a minute, and she hopes he can't hear or feel it.

"It was okay, you know, school is school," he shrugs, kissing the top of her head. "Lane says hi."

"Oh yeah, she's in your Chemistry class, right?"

"Yeah, we're actually partners a lot of the time for lab," he nods, putting down his coffee to shift, wrapping his other arm across Rory's body.

"So how about you?" He adds, smiling down at her.

"Oh, you know, school," she says with a forced nonchalant wave, earning her a skeptical look.

"Rory, I know you," he starts, smiling uncertainly. "You love school."

"I do love school," she confirms.

"And you love talking about school."

"I do."

"So school was 'school'? Something's weird about that," Dean says certainly, ducking his head to catch Rory's eyes, who had been avoiding direct contact with him.

Rory takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, furrowing her eyebrows. Here it goes.

"Well, actually Dean," she begins, picking at a cuticle, "I have something to talk to you about."

"Okay," he says, chuckling a little at how strange she's behaving. His initial instinct is to feel nervous, but it's Rory. Rory felt everything was a huge deal, and he'd been learning to respond first with sincere warmth. It saved him a good ten minutes of beating around the bush with a classic Rory Gilmore ramble by doing so.

"Okay, so, you know I have that assignment for my class, my social engagement class, right?"

"Yeah," he nods slowly. "The one with the year long group?"

"Right, great memory!" Rory chirps, shifting on the bench to face him.

"And we were given assignments on Friday, which we have no say over, so of course that's not really fair, but it's Chilton, and we're seniors, so it's good for us to get a taste of the real world, you know what I mean?" She gushes determinedly, looking at Dean to continue.

"Sure," he checks, feeling a little confused as to where this was going. A classmate from the year before crossed his mind, and Dean felt himself grow irritated. "And by no choice, do you mean you have no say in who you're partnered with?"

"Oh, no, no, I'm partnered with no one. Just me, myself, and I," she assures him, her speech picking up pace.

He feels silly for jumping the gun and relaxes. He looks up, contemplating, but just shrugs and laughs.

"Rory, I wish you'd just say what you wanna say," he chuckles, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'll be okay with whatever you need to tell me."

Rory considers this and smiles a genuine smile, feeling relaxed. "Really?"

"Really," he assures her, touching his forehead to hers, and planting a small kiss on her lips. Rory smiles into the kiss, and Dean can feel her nearly bounce from excitement.

"Okay! See, I have to go to an anger management group. It's going to be Tuesdays and Thursdays because that's good for mom's schedule, and it'll be 5:30-7:00 most days but sometimes until 7:30, which is when you work at Doose's lately anyhow, so it won't take away from the time I have to see you."

"Sounds fair," he nods.

"The only thing is -" Rory stops when Dean gives her a look, almost like she's pulling the rug from underneath of him "- don't give me that look! It's okay! It's just, it's kinda far, in Norwalk."

Dean grimaces.

"Norwalk, huh? Rory, that's pretty late for you to be driving home by yourself," Dean says, clear concern in his voice. Rory was still getting comfortable driving. Sure she'd taken Lorelai's Jeep, and she often used the car he'd built for her, but Rory rarely drove at night.

"I know, but I figured that I could try it, and if I got nervous at all, you'd know where to find me," she smiles widely now, tugging on his hand. "Wouldn't that be fun? An hour of just talking and listening to music and drinking coffee at night?"

Dean can't help but smile. He rolls his eyes playfully, shakes his head, and kisses Rory's forehead.

"That doesn't sound so terrible," he admits. Rory leans in to kiss him again before pulling away, smiling. She checks her watch and frowns.

"Don't you have to get ready for your shift tonight?" She asks, pouting. Dean looks at his own watch, returns her frown, and grabs his coffee.

"Yeah, I better get going. Taylor's been on everyone's case lately ever since a few beets went missing." Dean shrugs and the two get up, walking towards the market.

"Beets?" Rory asks incredulously, taking a sip of her coffee. She clicks her tongue in annoyance; the coffee had gotten cold. Probably from her gripping it so tightly while she'd been waiting.

"Yeah," Dean shakes his head. "Apparently beets have been going missing every week, so he's monitoring when we clock in with the count of beets."

"Are beets that big of a seller?"

"No, Taylor's just nuts."

The pair shrug and hug once they reach the doorway. Dean keeps his arms wrapped around Rory's waist as he pulls away, looking at her again.

"There wasn't anything else you needed to tell me right?" He checks, eyeing her softly. "You were just nervous about being so far for your project?"

Rory hesitates. The conversation had gone swimmingly as far as she was concerned. She was elated, because any other time she'd talked with Dean, it left her feeling kind of nauseous. She knew she hadn't told him it was an all-boys anger management group, but she wasn't sure it would be necessary.

The pit of her stomach hurt. She didn't want to lie to Dean. She studied his face, but her need to keep the peace won out over being completely honest with him.

"Yeah, I think that's it," she fibbed, quickly pulling away.

She held up her coffee. "I'm going to go get a new one and head home to study," she informs him, taking a step back.

"Alright, well hey, I'll call you when I'm done, okay?" He asks, kissing her one last time before letting her out of his reach.

"Okay!" She chirps and waves, nearly running away to Luke's.

As soon as she pushes through the diner door and takes a seat at the counter, Luke appears with a steaming coffee pot.

"Back already?" He asks, frowning. "You know, your mother is a horrendous example for you."

Rory giggles and shows Luke her nearly full coffee cup.

"Don't worry, this one just got cold," she reassures him. He smiles, shakes his head, and hands her a new cup.

"Thanks Luke," she says softly, staring down at the cup.

Luke cocks his head and puts the coffee pot down. He leans onto the counter, eying Rory a little.

"You okay?" He asks uncertainly. He wasn't very good at this - the asking of the feelings thing. But Rory was a great kid so he tried his best when it came to seeing her sad.

"Yeah, just feeling a little nauseous," she admits, shrugging with a small smile. "I'm okay, Luke. Thanks."

He nods but before he can really pry, Rory is getting up from her stool, heading back towards the door.

"I'll tell mom you say hi," she calls over her shoulder. He waves as she scurries away, making her exit.

A deep sigh escapes Rory's throat as she drags her feet home. She was feeling pretty awful about withholding the entirety of her assignment from her boyfriend. She bites her lip and takes a sip of coffee, hoping to fill some of the nervous void in the pit of her stomach. She spends the next few minutes walking home, trying to convince herself that she did the right thing.

* * *

Tuesday afternoon found Jess an irritable wreck.

The last thing he wanted to do was travel an hour out of the city to go to some stupid hippie group. He hadn't grown up talking about his feelings, and he had no intention to start now. And definitely not in a group with a bunch of pathetic losers who couldn't control their tempers.

He checks his watch, tapping his leg anxiously. He only had another twenty minutes on this bus before he had to walk ten minutes to the facility.

He grits his teeth, fidgeting with the magazine in his hands. He had bickered with Liz before leaving for the Intrepid Center, forgetting to bring decent reading material along. He really just wanted a cigarette.

He runs his right hand through his hair, frowning. He was feeling some mixture of annoyance and guilt over his conversation with his mother. He hadn't meant to prove her point in him maybe needing this more than he thought by raising his voice at her.

He bites his lip, looking over his shoulder to see the bus station in sight. Maybe he hadn't raised his voice, more like yelled and slammed the door on his way out.

He gets off the bus after it's pulled in, checks the side streets, and takes off in the direction he thinks is the Intrepid Center. He'd thought of every way possible to ditch, but with Principal Jeffreys breathing down his neck about it, he knew he had to go to at least the first week. Show some promise before disappointing the old man.

Jess didn't need anger management, he was sure of that. He just didn't take anyone's shit, especially not from the wealthier students; that wasn't a crime, that was self-preservation. And it really didn't have anything to do with money, more that he could talk circles around them when it came to school, and the rich kids got so worked up over it. He couldn't remember the last time _he'd_ ever been the one to throw the first punch.

He makes a right and surveys his surroundings. He notes a large, sterile looking building about three blocks down, and decides that could be the place.

The closer he gets, the greater his feelings of not wanting to be there grows. Now he is a block away and sees bright green signs indicating that the building was, in fact, the Intrepid Center.

Jess sighs and checks his watch. It was 5:15, which was plenty of time for a cigarette.

He stands outside of the building, rocking on his heels. He holds the cigarette in his lips as he zipped up his jacket, tugging it closed roughly. It was unusually cold in Connecticut for September.

Who he assumes is a staff member walks by, comments on his smoking too close to the building. Jess just stares at them and blows out a ring of smoke. The staff member shakes her head, huffing, and walks inside, muttering about the punks that hang around this place. He smirks, looking away. Too easy.

"Excuse me?"

The small voice comes from behind him. He rolls his eyes, not bothering to turn as he talks.

"It's a free country, okay?" He mutters, waving his cigarette.

"That's good, but is this the Intrepid Center?" The voice counters.

Jess squints and turns around, taking another drag of his cigarette.

* * *

Rory stands there awkwardly as the boy in front of her turns around. She flushes a little bit, noting that he has a really nice face and dark eyes. They lock eyes and she feels a little strange with neither of them talking.

"Huh," he marvels to himself, shifting his weight lazily to look at her. Rory looks at him quizzically.

"So…?" Rory tries, rocking on her feet. She's feeling impatient now.

"What, no hello? _That's_ not how you get what you want," he smirks. She raises her eyebrows at him and blushes a little. She doesn't know whether to agree with him or be annoyed that he isn't being helpful.

He seems to pick up on this and he nods to his right. She follows his nod and sees the bright green sign. A clear look of embarrassment crosses her face and Rory chuckles, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sorry, I'm running late, it screws up my vision and my manners," she jokes. "Hi," she adds as an afterthought.

"Hi," he repeats, chuckling. He takes one last drag of his cigarette and throws it on the ground, grinding it out with his foot.

Rory watches as he walks over to the door and holds it open. He looks at her and raises his eyebrows.

"Oh," she mumbles, scurrying past him. "Thanks!"

"Sure," he says easily.

Rory walks over in a rush to the front desk, where a frowning staff members grimaces as she comes to the desk.

"Yes?" She all but barks.

Rory is startled by her tone and fumbles over the sheet of paper in her hand. The boy from before stands to her right, leaning on the counter.

"Don't give her the third degree because you're pissed at me, lady," he says flatly, giving the staff member a bored look.

"Er?" Rory asks, turning to look at him and then again to the staff member. The staff member and the boy exchange dirty looks before the staff member sighs and asks for her name.

"Gilmore, Rory Gilmore."

"Nice name," the boy comments, but Rory can't tell if it's sincere or not. He's hard to read, but he doesn't look like he's being a jerk, so she smiles at him.

"And yours?" The staff member asks, forcing herself to look at him.

"Mariano."

"Jess?"

"That'd be me."

"Your dad must be so proud."

Rory looks as the boy, now Jess, she supposed, quickly sucks his teeth. Rory chuckles softly, watching as he bites back a snide remark.

"213," the staff member says to the two of them, handing them name tags and blue passes.

Jess looks at Rory from the side, cocking his head. His papers had said that it was an all boys group. He wonders if she's the shrink leading it. She doesn't look old or qualified enough.

"Thanks… Linda," Jess waves, squinting at the name tag. The staff member frowns again and flips her name tag over, burrowing herself into her chair behind the desk.

"So you're in 213, too?" Rory asks, looking hopefully at Jess. She wonders if he's also a student.

"Looks that way," he offers her with a half smile, pointing to the door on their left hand side.

"Are you a student too?" Rory asks, taking her turn to hold the door open for him.

He smirks and gives her a playful look.

"Somethin' like that," Jess shrugs, turning to hold the door above Rory's head to let her through.

* * *

 **AN** : Thanks for the feedback :) Keep it coming, it means the world to me! I'm having fun with this so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Rory eyes Jess skeptically as he does a 180, dropping his smirk and adopting a scowl. He sees her frowning but, upon seeing an adult woman in the room, Rory hurries over to her, leaving him behind.

Jess shoves his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and heads towards an empty chair. There are about twelve chairs wrapping in a circle and a few are already taken by men of varying ages. He kicks his legs out, scooting to the edge of his seat to lean back in the chair and lets himself look over who is already in the room.

"I just wanna get better, you know?" A blonde boy with freckles to his right is saying this to another guy next to him, who is nodding furiously in agreement.

Jess rolls his eyes and stares at the ceiling. He never really understood suicidal ideation, but right about now, drinking bleach sounded a whole lot better than listening to these dinks.

Other men filed into the room within the next five minutes. Jess's leg shakes with impatience. He decides to occupy himself by watching Rory talking animatedly with the older woman. He allows himself to stare at her, taking in her features.

He would never say she was hot or beautiful, but she had a different kind of attractiveness to her. It was more gentle, sweet even, if that was a thing. She was definitely appealing in some subtle capacity. Jess shrugs to himself. It was probably the blue-eyes, dark-hair thing she had going for her. That and her school uniform left her looking… something, Jess couldn't put his finger on the word.

The older woman smiles at Rory, gently putting her hand on the small of Rory's back to guide her to take a seat for the group to begin. Jess follows her movements with his eyes until he settles on looking at her hands. She's blatantly picking at her cuticles, and Jess wonders what she's so bent out of shape about.

The older woman being in the room clearly meant that she wasn't leading the group, so he didn't really get it. Maybe she, like him, felt incredibly uncomfortable being in a room with a bunch of dudes talking about their feelings. His ego falters a little, realizing that to her, he's just another one of those dudes.

He inwardly groans and shifts uncomfortably. Not that it mattered what this girl thought of him.

* * *

Rory watches Jess's demeanor change as he skulks over to an empty chair. She thinks about how it's strange that he didn't join her in introducing himself to Ms. Leon. After all, he'd seemed so calm and nonchalant from what little she'd seen - he couldn't be a member, she felt pretty certain about that.

"Hi, Ms. Leon? I'm Rory," she introduces hesitantly; at the sound of her voice, the woman turns to greet her.

"Rory! Hi! So great to meet you," the blonde says enthusiastically, clasping Rory's hand with her own for good measure. "I'm Ms. Leon, as you know."

"Yes, great to meet you, too," Rory replies with a smile, adjusting her bookbag.

"Have you ever been in a group work setting, Rory?" Ms. Leon asks over her shoulder as she gathers two clipboards with papers attached.

Rory shakes her head.

"No, I want to be a journalist, so I haven't really adventured out into the world of social work," Rory confesses with a sheepish smile. "But my town is pretty quirky, so it might count," she adds thoughtfully, chuckling along with Ms. Leon.

"A journalist, you say?" The woman turns to look at Rory now, a wide smile on her face. "That was my major in college!"

" _Really_?" Rory asks with an incredulous smile. "For some reason I thought social workers would all major in social work."

"Nope! Some of us fall into this work. I fell in love on a journalism assignment, believe it or not," Ms. Leon says with a wink.

Rory smiles in reply, and ponders whether it would be appropriate to accost Ms. Leon about her experience as a journalist. She checks her watch and sees that they're only a few minutes to 5:30 and approaching a full house of men. She resolves to research Ms. Leon later and ask follow ups on Thursday.

"So, are you ready for anger management, Rory?" Ms. Leon continues, guiding Rory over to the circle.

"I think as ready as I'll ever be," she shrugs, offering a small smile.

"Don't be nervous," the older woman smiles gently, placing her hand on the small of Rory's back. "You're in good hands. And the guys are only up to age 20, so they're more your peers. Might offer you something good to write about!" Ms. Leon adds another wink for good measure before addressing the group.

Rory picks at her cuticles and lightly bites her lip. She knew it was only a matter of weeks before she was completely comfortable in the group. Everyone had a learning curve, she would be no different. She allows her eyes to drift to the guy she had met earlier, only to find Jess's eyes immediately flick to hers. She looks away quickly, embarrassed to be caught staring at him.

"Gentlemen," Ms. Leon calls, her blonde hair bouncing as she turns with her clipboard to face the group. "Let's settle down and get started."

Rory is close at her heels, smiling shyly as she stays behind Ms. Leon. A few of the boys raise their eyebrows at her, and she feels a rush of pink to her cheeks. She feels like the chihuahua in a pack of dobermans, ready to stake her claim in spite of her size.

She half expects Jess to walk over and join them in the empty seat next to her but he doesn't move, only rolls his eyes at the older woman. She looks at him curiously, wondering why he is there in the first place.

* * *

"My name is Ms. Leon," she begins, eyes scanning the room. "I will be your facilitator and counselor for the next eight months. I'll tell you a little about myself in a minute, but I'd like to also introduce you to a student at Chilton High School in Hartford."

With that, she waves her arm in the direction of Rory. Rory freezes for a moment, debating whether she should also stand or remain seated for her introduction. She decides to stay in her seat.

"Hi, I'm Rory," she calls with a smile and a small wave.

After a few seconds of silence that precluded a few of the young men smiling at Rory, Ms. Leon prompts her.

"And do you want to tell us a few things about what you'll be doing here, Rory?" Ms. Leon asks warmly, her eyes playful.

"Oh, right," she says, feeling a little silly. "Well, I'm in my senior year of high school, hoping to major in journalism once I get to college. Um, I'm taking a social engagement class," she pauses, catching Jess raising an eyebrow in her direction, "and we were all assigned to a different group. So here I am, at your service!"

"Thank you, Rory," Ms. Leon says with a nod. "So gentlemen, be on your best behavior for Rory! She'll be using group discussions for her yearly assignments. Everything will of course be kept anonymous. You were told in your placement forms... but not everyone reads," she finishes off with a chuckle. She goes on to tell a bit about herself before opening the floor for questions.

Rory grabs the clipboards and looks around at the different faces.

"I have a question," says one boy with thick black curls, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes?" Ms. Leon asks, now seated and eager to hear from her group member.

"Does Rory have a boyfriend?" He asks slyly, getting a round of chuckles and shoulder nudges from his peers.

Rory flushes, both with embarrassment and anger. This was precisely the reason her mom didn't want her in an all male group. Well, one of them, she supposed.

Ms. Leon's face darkens and she opens her mouth to retort, but another voice cuts her off.

"Keep it wrapped, would you?" Jess deadpans from his seat, eying the offender.

"Excuse me?" The boy with curls asks, leaning forward now to glare at Jess.

"I doubt she came to a _therapy group_ to find her very own Mr. Darcy," he snorts. "So keep what little you have in your pants."

"Her who?" The guy asks, a look of confusion clouding his formerly annoyed expression. "And who are you calling little?"

"It's the romantic protagonist in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but maybe you would know that if you read a third as much as you flirted with innocent bystanders," Rory flares at him, exchanging a look with Jess. He looks pleased.

This gets a chorus of laughter from the other young men, a scowl from the offender, and the clearing of Ms. Leon's throat.

"Young man, this group is a safe space for _all_ of us here, and we all will contribute to the group norms. But we can't grow if we are targeting or objectifying other members. That's something I won't tolerate from anyone in this group, is that understood?" She looks at the boy sharply and he nods, mumbling something of an apology to Rory.

Jess looks smug and Rory looks thankful. She offers him a small smile and he shrugs his shoulder ever so slightly in acknowledgment.

Ms. Leon continues the group and has them do a round of introductions. She asks for their names, ages, area that they live in, and ends with an opening go-around of what they want out of the group. Jess isn't paying attention; he doesn't see the need to get all chummy with the guys in the group. As far as he's concerned, he's being held hostage there and wants nothing to do with them.

He does, however, spend the rest of the group stealing glances at Rory. He isn't sure what he's more impressed by - her fiery attitude at the end or her immediate understanding his reference.

Then again, didn't a lot of girls read Jane Austen? The next time an opportunity presented itself, he would throw in a more obscure reference and see how that went. For now he was intrigued.

Rory does her best to take notes on the men's names and ambitions. There hasn't been any disturbances after the Jess-Rory-Ms. Leon shut down in the beginning of group, and she's thankful for that. It's one less thing for her to decide whether she tells Lorelai or Dean about it.

She finds herself waiting for Jess's response, unsure as to why. She was genuinely grateful that he'd stood up for her after knowing her for a whopping three minutes, but then again, she didn't know him well. She was still surprised that he was there, but then, none of the boys had really exhibited rambunctious behavior yet.

She isn't sure what she is more intrigued by - the sticking up for her part or the Jane Austen reference. Had it been another girl, she thought, she wouldn't be as impressed. Maybe that was anti-feminist, but she rarely met girls at Chilton who hadn't read it, and she never met any guys who freely referenced what most would call a classic romance novel.

She holds her breath when the go around makes its way to Jess. He looks less than impressed with his surroundings.

"And you?" Ms. Leon prompts when Jess doesn't offer any information.

"Jess."

"Is that your name?"

"It's not my zipcode," Jess deadpans. Rory looks down at her paper so she doesn't smile.

"Okay, so, _Jess_ ," Ms. Leon emphasizes, raising her eyebrows. "Tell us your age, where you live, and what you want to get out of the group."

He stares at her, a challenge. When she doesn't look away and he sees Rory look up in what might be mild annoyance at his lack of compliance, he sighs.

"Seventeen. New York. And just out." Rory cocks her head. New York was far.

"I'm sorry?"

"You asked what I wanted to get out of the group. I said that I want to just get out."

A few of the other boys snicker but Ms. Leon isn't impressed.

"Well, the best way to do that is to participate and be present!" She says cheerfully, moving on to the next guy, earning an enthusiastic eyeroll from Jess.

Rory raises her eyebrows, making a face. Maybe she could see a little bit why Jess might be there. He didn't seem too great with authority figures.

* * *

The group went by well, in Rory's eyes. Her job was mainly to record and take notes, but Ms. Leon made it a point to keep her engaged and included. Several of the boys were talkative, in fact most of them, but Jess, the boy with the curly black hair who she learns is Phil, and another were quiet the entire time. Rory recorded how often the boy with curly hair glowered at Jess, and how often he simply stared or smirked back. It made her worry a little for what could happen after group sessions.

Rory hangs by Ms. Leon's things as the older woman asks the boys to choose a day for their personalized sessions. Rory knows this isn't typical of all groups, but Ms. Leon informs her that the social work interns would take most of the cases.

Ms. Leon walks over to Rory as the young men look through their scheduling options.

"Do you know if you're supposed to sit in on any of the counseling sessions?" she asks as Rory finishes scribbling a note or two.

"Um," Rory bites her lip, thinking of her assignment. She pulls the paper out of her bookbag and steps to the side, offering Ms. Leon an opportunity to look it over with her.

"It might be useful," Ms. Leon suggests, pointing to the third assignment. Rory reads it along with Ms. Leon, frowning in thought. "You have to do a biopsychosocial on a group member. "

"A what?"

"You basically have to sit with somebody and go over the biological, psychological, and social factors that affect their behavior in life and group. It's not due until closer to February, but it might be good to start now so that you can seek support from the social work interns," Ms. Leon explains sympathetically, her face softening once she sees how uncomfortable Rory looks.

This was totally more than Rory had bargained for. Not that she didn't care about social engagement, she believed in being an upstanding and socially engaged citizen, but it was intense. Paris had insisted that this class would look great on her transcripts to Harvard; that was the only reason she had really agreed to suffer along with her frenemy.

"Okay," she breathes, blowing her hair out of her face. "So who do I pick?"

Ms. Leon begins gesturing for the boys to come up.

"You have some time to decide. Their sessions won't begin until next week, but maybe try to stick to somebody directly before or after the group, what with your classes ending so close to start time. Maybe somebody in that slot will jump out to you?" She shrugs, smiling.

Rory smiles back, nodding.

"Now will you help me record these days and times, dear? The only person who should have a set time is…." she looks at her clipboard, flipping the paper up to reveal a roster. "Mariano, Jess. His was pre-scheduled at a 7:30pm slot for either day."

Rory nods and bites her lip, stealing a glance at Jess, who of course was in the far back of the line. Something told her that she already knew who's session she wanted to sit in on.

* * *

Jess takes a hard step forward, clenching his fist instinctually. He inhales deeply and turns sharply on his heel, locking eyes with Phil.

"You don't want to do that," Jess warns.

Phil looks smug as the other boys file out of the building, glancing over but not paying much mind to the stare off.

"Why's that?" Phil asks, taking a step forward.

Jess looks at him with as much boredom and annoyance as he can muster. He genuinely thinks some brain cells died during group. He sighs and composes himself. He would not prove Principal Jeffreys or Liz right. He shakes his head.

"I'm not wasting my time on you," he offers dryly.

As Phil goes to open his mouth, Rory steps out of the doors. She reads Jess's face quickly, noting how angry he looks. She shuffles over, looking nervous.

"Hey guys," she says softly, stepping just enough towards Phil that he turns around to glance at her. He looks over his shoulder at Jess, huffs, and turns back to Rory.

"Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, Rory," he mutters, throwing back two fingers at Jess as he stalks off.

Rory looks confused as Phil goes past her before looking back to Jess. He glances behind himself, grabbing at his jacket. No grubby handprints from that low life as far as he could see. He snaps his jacket in the front and tilts his head to the side, looking thoughtfully at Rory.

"Were you guys about to fight?" She asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

Jess didn't seem like the initiating type, so she immediately thinks that it was started by Phil. But, he was older than Jess by two years; she would have thought he'd be more mature than to start a fight right outside of his anger management group. She sighs to herself. She had a feeling the earlier incident would carry outside of the room.

"Actually, we were going to hold hands and skip," he quips with a smirk. She narrows her eyes at him, folding her arms over her chest.

"Whatever," she huffs and pushes past him towards the parking lot. "And to think I came looking for you to thank you for earlier."

Jess turns and jogs after her, catching up in a few steps.

"Aw, you came lookin' for me, Teach? That's awfully sweet of you," he says lightheartedly. Rory might have taken it as the playful statement it was meant to be, but he'd annoyed her now. She wasn't interested in talking to him anymore.

" _Bye_ , Jess," she says with a sideways glare, not breaking her stride.

She reaches her car and he holds off, hovering for a moment. Rory can feel his eyes on her and whips around, offering him her best annoyed face.

"The guy is a jerk," he says flatly, shrugging his shoulders.

Rory shoots him an exasperated look. Did he not realize he was being just as jerky to her? She softens when she sees that his eyes have also softened. She takes this as an unspoken apology and nods, opening up her car door.

"See you Thursday, Teach," Jess salutes before backing away from the car and heading down the block.

Rory rolls her eyes and closes the door. She grabs her phone and dials Dean, letting herself watch Jess disappear in the distance while she waits.

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for all of the positive feedback! It genuinely helps me because I know what is working. Anywho, this chapter is long. I do a lot of group work so I wanted to take the time to build its structure for later scenes :) The formatting of this chapter keeps going craycray so I apologize in advance. Please review lovely people :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Switch with me."

Rory gives Paris an incredulous look before rolling her eyes, switching out her notebooks for their social engagement class at her locker.

"We can't switch, Paris," Rory reminds her, hints of annoyance in her tone.

"That's not true," Paris counters, folding her arms over her chest. "I can talk to Ms. Gialli, tell her it's a really triggering experience for both of us. She won't want to pay our therapy bills."

"Nobody could afford _that_ ," Rory jokes. Paris doesn't look impressed at the implications of Rory's statement and taps her foot impatiently.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"Will you?"

"Will I _what_?"

"Switch with me!"

"Paris!" Rory closes her locker with a heavy hand, all but slamming it.

"You're the one who made me take this class and now you're complaining about the assignment. Why do you want to go to anger management, anyway?" She asks, tiring of the conversation quickly. Rory moves to walk down the hallway, Paris following closely.

"I don't," Paris admits, pressing forward. "But at least I understand anger. It's fueled some of the greatest revolutions of our history."

Rory gives her a look but keeps walking.

"Getting drunk as a skunk and feeling bad about it later isn't revolutionary, it's poor judgment. I can't sit around listening to these people who pride themselves on going without a drink to numb their miserable lives for three days. _Three days_ , Rory, that's not even a full menstrual cycle!" Paris finishes incredulously, waving her hand for good measure. "Nobody gives _me_ around of applause or a button for making it through a monthly bleedfest and surviving, but here I am."

"Okay first of all, _ew_ ," Rory scoffs disapprovingly. "Keep your period details to yourself. Second of all, they have _addictions_ Paris, not something that naturally happens. Every day they choose something positive over their vice _is_ something to be proud about!"

"Whatever, I still think you should switch with me," Paris groans, filing into their classroom.

"I'm not switching with you," Rory tells her firmly, narrowing her eyes for good measure. "You'll just have to ask the wizard for a heart and deal, tinman." Rory finishes this off with a half smile and Paris huffs, all but throwing herself into her seat. Rory sits next to her and Louise and Madeline also file in, sitting around her and Paris. She opens her notebook as Ms. Gialli walks in.

Her teacher welcomes the class and begins lecturing, taking time to ask students about their assignments. By now, everyone was around three weeks in.

Rory steals a glance at Paris.

She doesn't look unlike a spoiled toddler, Rory thinks. But then, Paris was one of those people who typically hounded others until she got her way. Rory could hold her own; it would be good for her sometimes-friend, sometimes-enemy to learn some hard truths about the hand you were dealt. Besides, Rory hadn't gotten the group she'd wanted, either, but she was making it work.

Jess crosses Rory's mind. She smiles and frowns, all in the same beat. She realizes that she doesn't really get him. One minute he's friendly and talkative, and the next he's not contributing to the group or he's making a sarcastic comment. He hadn't exhibited any kind of growth like some of the other students, but he did seem to be nice to her. Rory wonders what his story is and resolves to speak to her teacher after class about how to approach it.

She doodles on her notebook, thinking about Jess and listening to her teacher lecture half-heartedly.

"Thinking about loverboy?" Louise checks with a mischievous grin, leaning forward in her seat next to Rory.

Rory startles, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. What face had she been making? Embarrassed, Rory smiles and looks down. Madeline giggles.

"God, you have the better group _and_ a gorgeous boyfriend. You make me sick," Paris groans, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Somebody's jealous," Louise jokes quietly to Madeline, who returns the sentiment with a nod.

"We have a class to pay attention to," Paris growls, nodding her head towards the front of the room.

"If my boyfriend looked like Rory's, I wouldn't pay attention to anything else," Louise says simply, winking at Rory.

Rory swallows, adjusting in her seat to pay better attention to Ms. Gialli. She'd been thinking about the attractiveness of somebody, but it hadn't been her boyfriend.

Guilt fills the pit of her stomach and she immediately starts writing a letter to Dean, telling him how wonderful and cute he is.

* * *

Jess scribbles in his book before closing it and shoving it in his pocket. He gets up, his stop being announced over the loudspeaker.

He files out of the train among other people he vaguely recognizes from some of his classes and all but runs up the subway stairs to get away from them. It was bad enough that he had to go to school with them, but did he really have to share his reading time with them?

Aside from the obnoxious rich kids, he didn't hate school. He was too smart for it, but he didn't hate it.

The only classes he could really stand to stomach were English and Recreation, which doubled as a gym class. English because he read a lot, even if the teacher didn't believe him. And Recreation because he could put on his headphones and go to town on a weight bag without getting shit for listening to music.

But because two classes barely made up the day, it was hard to force himself to be there. He finished his tests and quizzes quicker than the wealthy students who had money for tutors. Because he liked to read, he grasped material quicker than most and didn't feel as though he needed to sit in on lectures listening to things he'd learned on his own time weeks ago.

So today, like every other day he actually chose to come, he pulled his own book back out of his pocket and flipped it open, ignoring the students and teachers around him.

In the midst of reading, he allows himself to think about Rory. She had definitely proved feistier than he initially thought. It made her more attractive to him; he loved a challenge. She hadn't spoken too much in the group, as was to be expected, but she had taken furious notes. On more than one occasion he had seen her watching him a moment before jotting something in her notebook. He didn't know why, but he sort've wanted to know what she thought of him.

He scoffs at himself, frowning. He knew this girl for four seconds and wanted to know what she _thought_ of him? Okay, maybe it was more like a few weeks, but still. That wasn't the kind of guy he was.

The bell overhead rings, dismissing him from his class and his thoughts.

He pulls his jacket off the back of his chair and flings it over his shoulder, shoving his book back in his pocket with a swift movement.

"You're getting soft, Mariano," he chides himself, something inside of him cringing at the very idea of thinking about some random girl.

School was over for him for the day. He childishly decides that being surrounded by academia is what elicited the thoughts of a seemingly studious Rory. He'd go sit in the park and do his own thing, far away from thoughts of her blue eyes and plaid skirt.

* * *

"Jess, I notice that you're tapping your foot," Ms. Leon states, leaning forward in her chair.

Rory watches Jess's face go from surprise to annoyance at being called out.

"You have excellent observational skills," he deadpans.

Rory bites her cheek, scribbling something about non-compliance in her notebook.

"Can you share with us why you're tapping your foot?" Ms. Leon continues evenly, not batting an eyelash at his comment. Rory admires the older woman's poise. She supposed that took time and practice, but she couldn't be so sure she would handle Jess's many sarcastic quips with the same ease.

He offers her nothing but a bored look.

"He just wants attention," a boy named Ethan mumbles, crossing his arms.

Jess smirks and leans forward in his chair.

"You got me," he says, holding up his hands in a mock surrender.

"Ethan, let's not jump to conclusions. Perhaps Jess doesn't feel like talking about it," the older woman offers gently.

As Ethan tries to rebut her, Jess rolls his eyes and stands up. Rory watches with a mixture of curious itt and fear as he walks towards Ethan. She grips the seat of her chair tightly, ready to pounce at breaking up Jess vs. Group Member round two, but Ms. Leon steps up.

"Where are you going?"

Jess barely glances at her.

"Bathroom."

"You need somebody to walk with you," she says firmly.

If he had been drinking or chewing anything, he might have choked. At the very least, Rory considers, he might have given himself whiplash with how quickly he snapped his head back to gawk at Ms. Leon as if she had six heads.

"What?"

"You need somebody to walk with you when you exit the room before the group break," she repeats. She looks down at her clipboard, shuffles papers a minute, and then holds up a form to him. Rory recognizes it as the contract that all of the young men had had to sign a few weeks ago while they made their counseling appointments. "You signed in agreement," she adds.

Jess looks like Ms. Leon just cracked and turns to leave the room anyway. An annoying voice sounding oddly like his mother nags in his head, reminding him that Ms. Leon determines whether he makes it out of this interminable sentence alive and not post-graduation.

Rory watches his fists clench and unclench while she bites on her cuticles. She really wasn't looking forward to watching the group while Ms. Leon escorted Jess. She just wasn't comfortable in front of a group of strangers yet, and from what little she knew of Jess, she figured she would be sitting there managing the group for at least a few minutes while he stalled in the restroom.

Much to her relief and dismay, Ms. Leon turns to Rory.

"Rory," she begins, offering a pitiful look. "Typically we wouldn't ask a young lady to accompany a boy to the restroom - we tend to have male interns - but if you could just stand outside?"

Rory's eyes widen, and Jess is almost certain that they're about to pop out of the girl's skull. He smirks at the way her mouth opens and closes like a fish, clearly uncomfortable.

"But Ms. Leon, wouldn't it be better if another one of the guys accompanied Jess?" She asks calmly, trying to settle her discomfort.

"All of the young men are unfortunately under the same contract, so they can't guide one another," Ms. Leon points out. "It isn't a big deal," she adds softly.

She exchanges a look with Rory which tells Rory that Ms. Leon doesn't really want to subject her to the entire room alone. Rory should find this comforting but mostly just wants to die.

"Yeah, Gilmore, I won't attack you like _some_ people," Jess quips, offering a pointed look at Phillip. Phillip narrows his eyes at Jess and crosses his arms over his chest.

Rory huffs and immediately gets up, stalking past Jess to the door. She wasn't going to entertain this weird silent feud that he and Phillip had been maintaining. Jess salutes Ms. Leon before filing after Rory.

Out in the hallway, Rory can hear Ms. Leon continuing the group discussion on why emotions matter. She sidesteps, crossing her arms over her chest tightly to let Jess go ahead of her. She knew the reason for the guys being accompanied was to avoid allowing them to ditch group, but she felt like a creepy chaperone.

"What are you so freaked about?" Jess asks, sidestepping as the door closes behind them.

"I'm not," she sputters defensively.

"You don't have to watch," Jess jokes, passing her lazily as he strolls down the hallway.

Rory squints at him, annoyed. Her expression quickly becomes concerned once she notes that there is a sign for the men's restroom and it's in the exact opposite way from where Jess is headed.

She scurries after him, grabbing a hold of the back of his hoodie.

Time seems to stop in the moment her fingers connect with the warmth of his back, her hand gripping the back of his hoodie to turn him around.

To Rory, it's like an eternity waiting for Jess to look at her. It feels like the air has been sucked out of the room, and her hand feels shocked, like when you've built up friction in your palm and then touch metal. Except that it shoots up her arm in waves and her eyes widen, something deep inside awakening. She can't explain why she feels this way, but she knows it can't be normal.

For Jess, it's not so much of a shock. If he was willing to admit it, Rory's touch felt something like the warmth of sun at the beach first blanketing your skin. It felt comforting and overwhelming. And it felt like there was too much air in the room and his lungs weren't big enough to take it all in. He looks at her and they exchange an intense look before she backs away quickly.

"Uh, er, the bathroom is that way," Rory explains, diverting her eyes but keeping her tone even. She wasn't about to show him she'd nearly gotten a panic attack by touching him.

He blinks and recovers, determined not to let her know that she just threw him off. He settles on replacing his own dumbfounded look with a half smile, turning back away from her.

"I'm not going to the bathroom," Jess says simply, shoving his hands in his pocket.

Rory is immediately on his heels and falls in stride next to him, careful to keep a foot between them.

"You can't _leave_ , Jess," she insists.

"I'm not _leaving_ , Rory," he counters.

She narrows her eyes at him, gesturing her hand towards the staff desk.

"Really? Because that's what it looks like."

"Believing is seeing, kid," he says playfully with a shrug, turning the corner with his face turned towards the wall incase the staff worker on duty noticed.

Rory rolls her eyes and follows Jess to the door, which he holds open for her. She doesn't walk through as an act of defiance, her nonverbal sign to speak volumes that she isn't okay with him making both of them break his contract. Clients were only allowed to go outside during the brief group break.

Jess shrugs and walks outside anyway. He doesn't really care if she comes out with him, though he wouldn't mind, he considers. He really just needed to get out of that room and clear his head, smoke a cigarette.

He cups his hand over his cigarette poised in his lips, flicks his lighter, and takes a drag in one swift motion, He raises his eyes at Rory, who is glaring at him from inside the building. He sees what looks like her huffing a deep sigh before she pushes the door open, not stepping fully outside, just enough to talk to him.

"Let's get a move on it, Tom Hanks," she insists, waving the wrist with a watch at him. "A few puffs is enough."

"Really? Tom Hanks?"

"Did you or did you not quote the Polar Express at me?"

Jess smirks and tosses his cigarette on the floor. Maybe she did read a little.

He walks past Rory and goes back inside but she hesitates, not following him right away. He turns his head long enough to see her run outside, grind out the cigarette, and fly back in. He smiles and shakes his head as she picks up her pace to walk along beside him.

"Why do you make things difficult?" Rory asks softly, biting her lip.

"Do I?"

"I think so. This is only the third week and you're already breaking your contract."

"I'm not sure that I did. You were my chaperone the whole time," he points out nonchalantly.

"To the bathroom, not outside for a cigarette break."

"Either I prop open the window and smoke in there or I go outside and do it, makes no difference."

"You're impossible," Rory declares, rolling her eyes.

"And you're a goody two shoes."

Rory stops walking and rounds on him, flaring. They're just outside of 213 now.

"Just because I believe in following the rules doesn't make me a goody two shoes, it makes me a person with a conscience!"

"And I'm sure the Nazis felt the same way."

"I am _hardly_ like a Nazi!"

"Maybe, but the Nazis followed the rules and they sure as hell didn't have a conscience."

Suddenly the door opens and Ms. Leon is standing there, eyebrows raised at the two teenagers who are standing toe-to-toe, squared off with narrowed eyes.

"Everything okay?" She asks curiously, looking from teen to teen.

"Yeah," they mumble together. Ms. Leon backs away from the door and Jess goes through first. She exchanges a look with Rory, who shakes her head and smiles brightly to hide her annoyance, and walks into the room.

* * *

"He's so impossible!" Rory declares in frustration, continuing her rant to Dean and her mom as she shoves a huge handful of popcorn in her mouth.

Dean looks at Rory warily, wondering if he's equipped to perform CPR if she chokes.

"Well, no offense kids, but he's only what? Seventeen?" Lorelai offers, shrugging.

"He can't just follow the rules, he has to try to break them. He tries so hard to act tough but I'm sorry, quoting the Polar Express? Not exactly Greaser material," she continues, plopping herself onto the couch dramatically.

"You're too worked up about this," Dean insists, wrapping his arm around Rory's shoulders.

This was maybe the third or fourth time in the last month that Rory had complained about the same kid. And now, she had been talking about him for the last ten minutes on a rampage. Even if the things were negative, it felt weird that she always talked about him. Dean would be lying if he didn't feel a little jealous at how much time she spent talking about him in general. And she wasn't allowed to say his name or anything identifying about the guy, so he couldn't even pick him out when he went to pick her up on Tuesday. It felt too similar to a situation the year before, but at least he had seen Tristan.

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have to spend time with him," she mumbles as he kisses her head.

Lorelai watches Dean's face shift and decides it's time to change the subject. It didn't take a genius to recognize that he didn't want to spend one of his only nights with Rory that week listening to her go on and on about another person.

"Well, you get to escape from him 5 days of the week, let's focus on that! So, movie time?" She suggests with a smile, grabbing the remote.

* * *

"Why can't we talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Liz."

"Jess," Liz warns. He'd gotten into the habit the last year or so calling her Liz instead of Mom. She didn't like it and she made sure Jess knew.

" _Mother_ ," he deadpans, moving past her to go to his room.

"Jess, we aren't done here!" Liz insists, stalking after him. "You don't have to be such a jerk about this."

"Jeez, Liz, what do you _want_?" Jess barks, rounding on her. "You want to talk like girlfriends about our feelings?"

Liz's face changes and her eyes get sad. Jess notices but he's fired up now. His mom had been pestering him for a solid ten minutes.

"Well newsflash - that's not going to happen. I could have just picked up another job but you decided to torture me with this crap. You wanted me to go to this stupid class and I'm going. There weren't any conditions where I had to spill my guts to you or be a saint about it, so get off my back."

"I don't know why you have to talk to me like that. Why can't we just talk to each other like when you were younger?"

"Maybe if you give me a bottle of Absolut, I'll be as chatty as you."

It all happens so quickly. No sooner are the words out does Liz send her hand flying across his cheek. There isn't any time to regret his words, which he might have, had she given him any time to hear what he had said. But the damage is done and Jess's look of shock quickly turns dark and he turns on his heel, grabbing keys off of the table before slamming the door closed behind him.

Liz's hand throbs and she looks down at it. She had never hit Jess before. Even as a kid when he'd done something wrong, she didn't believe in hitting him.

She sinks onto the nearest chair, sighing deeply. This wasn't working anymore. She thought that the anger management would help Jess. She had noticed that overall his mood had been better while he was actually home, but then things like this happened and she wondered if it was doing any good at all.

Sadly, she considers that she might have something to do with the stalled process. But before she gets too down on herself, the harshness of what her son had said a minute ago flashes in front of her and her stomach clenches, desperation and anger clawing at her.

Something needed to change.

She picks up the phone and dials the only person she knows she can rely on in this.

* * *

 **AN** : Longre chapter! I had a lot of fun writing the different dialogues so I hope you liked reading :) I know not a ton has happened yet, but it's all leading up to some grand shifting to line up with canon events. Thanks to all of the new followers! I'd love to hear from you about what you're liking so far. Thanks for reading! (P.S. For anyone unfamiliar with alcohol, Absolut is vodka) Aaaaand I forgot on the first upload! Special thank you to Hannah and anonLove for their consistent feedback! xo


	5. Chapter 5

Lorelai stares as Luke runs around the diner, letting out great huffs of air and side eyeing semi-annoying customers. She figures something is up because the last time he was this on edge and distracted, it was because Rachel had come into town.

Lorelai scrunches her mouth, wondering at the possibility, and finally decides enough is enough.

"Luke?" She asks as he passes her, trading a plate given to one customer with another, handing the original plate to Kirk on the opposite side of her.

When he doesn't answer, she furrows her brows and tries again.

"Luke!" She calls, waving her hand around by his face.

This works effectively and he looks at her half startled, half mildly annoyed.

"I'm working here, Lorelai," he mumbles with the raise of an eyebrow. Lorelai gives him a look.

"Yeah, and you're not doing a very good job at it! You've already given six people the wrong order," she points out, gesturing to the other customers with an arm.

"I'm still waiting for mine," Kirk chirps from next to her, earning him a murderous glare from the diner owner.

"Kirk, I just gave you your order," Luke growls.

"Oh…. My mistake.." Kirk mutters, looking down at the food he knows belongs to Babette. He takes a bite of the eggs that aren't scrambled just the way he likes, and Lorelai looks at him sadly before turning her attention back to Luke.

"Kirk, you don't have to eat them."

"It's fine, Lorelai. Luke is right."

"See Luke? Not only are you screwing up plates, but you're scaring Kirk into eating something he doesn't like!" Lorelai defends, pointing a finger at the man next to her.

"What else is new!" Babette yells from her table with Ms. Patty.

"Alright, that's it, if you can't appreciate the har—Lorelai, what are you doing?" Luke scrambles as Lorelai rounds on him and pushes him out of the diner door.

"What are you doing? I have a diner to run," Luke protests, gesturing towards the establishment he was just forced out of.

"What is _up_?" Lorelai demands, hands on her hips.

"Up?"

"Yes, up. With you."

"Some crazy lady just kicked me out of my own diner!"

"Luke!"

Lorelai and Luke stare at each other in a firm standoff before Luke sighs, lifts up his cap, and smooths his hair back before replacing his signature hat.

"It's Jess."

" _Jess_...ica Alba?"

"I have a nephew," Luke explains, rubbing his hands together nervously. Lorelai looks surprised. Why was this the first time she was hearing about this?

"You have a nephew?"

"I have a nephew."

"Which means you have siblings?"

"A sister. Liz. I've told you about Liz," Luke insists.

"Nuh-uh," Lorelai defends, shaking her head incredulously. "So you have a sister and you have a nephew? Are you close?"

Luke makes a face, almost like he's considering something unclear to him.

"My sister, not so much. Jess… I don't know, I mean we aren't you and Rory or anything, but we talk here and there," Luke says thoughtfully, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, so you have a nephew that you talk to here and there…"

Luke can see the wheels turning in Lorelai's head. If he weren't so stressed, he might have found it cute like he usually did.

"Yes, Lorelai, I have family. Is that so weird?"

"I mean, you can, it's just, we've known each other for a while and I didn't know you have a nephew that you kinda talk to or a sister that you basically don't," Lorelai explains, waving her hands around for good measure. Luke gives her a tired look and she realizes that she needs to let it go for now.

"Okay, okay. So, what is it about Jess?" Lorelai asks to Luke's original statement.

"Right, so Jess is coming here."

"Here where?"

"To Stars Hollow. Where else is here?"

"Well, I don't know, he could be in another country and he's coming to the United States."

"Why would my nephew be in an—you know what, nevermind, I need to get back inside," Luke starts to respond before thinking better of it and admitting defeat.

Lorelai holds up her hands in surrender, grabbing Luke's shoulder before he can go inside the diner.

"Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm just still kinda shell shocked. So Jess is coming to Stars Hollow. Why is that bad?"

"It's not bad, it's just. He's coming here. To stay. With me. _Me_. I can't grow a tomato, let alone a kid," Luke confides, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Jess is a kid?"

"Well, no, he's seventeen."

"So he's already grown, Luke, you don't have to do much beside put a condom in his wallet," Lorelai jokes lightly. Luke's face twists into a strange feral look and she realizes this wasn't the joke to make.

"He will _not_ have sex, do you hear me? He will go to school, he will come home, and he will do his homework!" Luke barks, waving a firm finger in his friend's face.

"See you'll do just fine," Lorelai jokes, patting Luke on the shoulder. He sighs and her expression softens. "Luke, it'll be okay. How long is he staying?"

"I don't know. For now, I guess. He's getting into fights and Liz can't handle him anymore."

Lorelai's face drops a bit.

"Do they have a good relationship?" She asks, shifting her weight.

"Let's just say Liz isn't getting mom of the year," he shakes his head. Lorelai pouts. She felt bad for the kid.

"Well then maybe it's good he's coming to you, you know?" Lorelai pipes up, gently touching Luke's shoulder before returning it to her side. "You're one of the good ones, Luke. I'm sure you'll be good for him."

"You think?" Luke asks hopefully, biting back a smile.

"I know! And hey, I think my kid turned out okay so I'm here if you want any advice."

Luke smiles and nods.

"Thanks Lorelai."

"Anytime."

"I guess I'll be getting back to work," Luke says uncomfortably, shifting his weight after the two share a sweet smile.

"Yeah, and hey, Luke?" She asks, heading in after him.

"Yeah?"

"Get Kirk his actual food before he chokes."

"Right."

* * *

It felt like pure bullshit to Jess that he still had to go to this anger management even though he was transferring schools. Once he found out his mom was shipping him off, the thought of being cut loose from the hippy shit was one of the only highlights.

But the thought had ended quickly when his principal refused to allow him to simply pay for the damage in installments. In a last effort to get one over on him, Principal Jeffrey's had said that Jess was in a paid contract with the Intrepid Center and he had an obligation to complete.

Liz had tried to tell him it would be a positive outlet for him, but Jess had simply walked out of that meeting. He had zero desire to speak to either of them.

He and Liz hadn't talked in a week as he prepared to leave for good. Maybe Liz didn't know it was for good, but Jess did; he was almost eighteen, and he'd be damned if anyone was gonna force him to live with the drunk again.

Jess sighed as he walked up the block towards the Intrepid Center. He had missed both of his sessions last week to make preparations. Well, he had missed Tuesday to do that; Thursday he just didn't want to go. He was moving tomorrow officially, so he needed to tell Ms. Leon that he would be missing today and Thursday again.

Oh, how Jess wished he could just walk into that place and tell Ms. Leon that he wasn't coming back for good either and then skip away gleefully. Just thinking about it all and knowing it wasn't possible put him in a bad mood.

As he walks into the parking lot, deep in his thoughts, he passes a very familiar jeep. Jess stops for a second, turns, and sees Rory in her car, looking down at something intensely. Jess smiles and back tracks. He raps lightly on her window.

* * *

A week had passed and Rory hadn't seen Jess at group. He also hadn't gone to his therapy session. Rory had had to work on a piece for the Franklin so she hadn't gone, but Denise—the social work intern on Jess's case—had let her know that he'd missed since it affected Rory's assignment.

She taps her pen impatiently, wondering where he is. She had arrived early to her group session, trying to have a quiet space to do her homework. She sits in her mother's jeep, legs crossed in the front seat with her book closed on her lap. Rory was having trouble concentrating lately.

She told herself it had nothing to do with Jess not being there. Admittedly by this point, they were several weeks into the group. Rory had internally determined her favourites in the group, and it hadn't been long before her annoyance at Jess's demeanor turned to intrigue.

He didn't talk much in group or counseling, but he did talk to her a lot afterwards. Most of the time he infuriated her with his sarcastic quips and stupid smirks, not to mention his utter lack of interest in the group. But there were other times he wasn't so annoying.

Sometimes he saw a book she was reading and offered his thoughts, always making her think more deeply about them. Other times he made small jokes when he noticed she wasn't in a particularly stellar mood. And then there was when he remembered her birthday, shoving a paper in her book when she wasn't looking to wish her a good day. She couldn't remember when had she told him that, or if she even had.

Rory sighs and realizes she'd been thinking about him again.

 _It's normal to think about people who are absent when you're used to seeing them every week_ , she assures herself. She isn't convinced but instead of processing this, she instead chooses to get annoyed at the thought of Jess and turn back to her work. She opens her book and begins trying to read again.

A tap at the window makes Rory jump out of her skin. Her face softens when she sees a familiar smirk on the other side of the glass.

Rory rolls down the window and smiles.

"Hi," Rory says from inside of her car, her eyes bright.

"Hi," Jess offers back before nodding towards the building. "You're here early."

"Yeah, I just needed some homework time," she explains gesturing at the book in her lap. "You are too, actually."

Jess shrugs, rocking on his heels. "I got a call from Ms. Leon about missing, and I gotta let her know about today and Thursday, too."

He watches as her eyebrows rise and fall, knitting together in thought and confusion. If he didn't know better—and really, he didn't, she was hard to read—, he would think there was a silent look of disappointment on her face.

"Oh," she finally says softly, biting her lip. She looks up at him.

"Are you missing again?" Rory asks in a small voice, curiosity in her tone.

Jess is pretty certain he detects disappointment this time. He gives Rory a look that tells her he won't be there. Her face falls ever so slightly, and he can't help but let his lips curve into a smirk.

"You gonna miss me, Ms. Gilmore?" He asks lightly, feigning shock as he holds a hand to his chest.

The feistiness he hasn't seen in awhile rises.

"I'm gonna miss drawing doodles of you getting anvils dropped on your head for being disruptive," she quips, a smile playing at her lips.

Jess laughs and leans down and in towards her, resting his arms on the window sill. Rory holds her ground and doesn't scoot back.

"You draw me _dying_? That ain't very friendly, neighbor."

"You always survive," Rory laughs. "It's just how I channel all my annoyed thoughts about you."

Jess locks eyes with her.

"At least you think about me," he says softly. She gives him a strange look before looking down and away from him. He notices goosebumps on the arm that's resting on the steering wheel and raises an eyebrow.

"I think about all of you," she recovers, turning back to face him with a smile. "You're all kind've like my adopted kids. I think about everyone's process a lot for my assignments."

Jess laughs. "You know, most of us are probably older than you."

The brunette shrugs as if that's the most irrelevant thing he's ever said to her. "So?"

Jess considers this and shrugs back at her, leaning in a little more in the window.

"So you write about my sessions, right?" He asks, looking around the inside of Rory's car.

 _It doesn't seem like her_ , he thinks before scolding himself. He mentally rolls his eyes. As if he really could say what her car should look like.

"Yeah, for my class," Rory replies simply, grabbing a notebook from the passenger seat side. She holds it up and wiggles it a little. "It's not very _filled_ though."

"I don't have much to say," Jess shrugs at her, looking down at the books in her lap.

She leans in towards him and squints her eyes in mock annoyance.

"You say plenty to me, just not to Ms. Leon or Denise," she challenges, waving the notebook again. "And I can't use anything that isn't in the session."

"I don't like talking to them," he says simply. She looks at him and he can tell she understands what he won't say. He feels her breath on him, and suddenly he feels like there's less air to breathe between them. It's not dissimilar to what happened a few weeks ago, when Rory'd grabbed his hoodie.

 _You don't even know if she's single_ , his subconscious reminds him. He hears it but he doesn't back away.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you only nice to me?"

It's almost like an alarm goes off inside of him, and everything he was thinking about before drains from his head. Everything says to shut down and back off. He isn't good at emotions; never has been, never will be. He won't answer her question because it means admitting to himself that some way, somehow, this perky, bubbly girl has wormed her way into his head.

He shrugs and leans away from the car window, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Don't smoke that so close," Rory protests, crinkling her nose.

Jess looks at her dully, rolls his eyes, and puts it away. He holds back a smile; operation dodge the question was a success.

"You're such a prude," he comments lightly, a sarcastic tone blanketing his words.

Anger flashes through Rory's eyes and Jess holds back a smile. He didn't know why he liked getting her so riled up.

"I'm not a prude because I don't want to smell like gross cigarette smoke," she counters, frowning. "And anyways, don't you have a meeting to miss?" she adds annoyed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

Jess shrugs and sighs, looking over at the doors to Intrepid Center, where the ever-persistent and perky Ms. Leon was waiting for him.

"Okay," he says in mock surrender, holding up his hands. He starts backing away from the car and turns on his heel to head inside.

"Jess!"

Jess turns around to see Rory waving from inside her car. He raises his eyebrow in confusion and takes a step or two forward in her direction.

"You're coming back, right?" She calls. "Next week?"

Jess bites back a smile and nods. "Yeah."

Rory nods and rolls her window back up, going back to her books.

Jess shakes his head and turns again to go inside. He _really_ didn't get her.

* * *

"Rory!"

"Mom!"

"You'll _never_ guess what I have to tell you," Lorelai says with a bounce as she takes leftover Chinese food out of the refrigerator.

"Yeah?" Rory mumbles, walking slowly into the kitchen before dropping her bag heavily on the floor.

Lorelai's mother senses are tingling, but Rory had been really distracted lately. Any time Lorelai pushed, Rory pushed back, so she figured she should just let this one go tonight.

"Yeah!"

Rory waits and stares at Lorelai.

"Well?"

"Guess!"

"I can't guess."

"Why not?"

"Because you said I'll never guess, so I may as well not try," her daughter points out, taking a seat and a box of rice from the middle of the table.

"You're no fun," Lorelai pouts, placing plates at the table before she takes her own seat.

"Mom," Rory laughs. "Just tell me."

"Okay. Get this," Lorelai declares, lightly slamming her hands down, fingers spread, on the table. " _Luke_ has a nephew."

Rory cocks an eyebrow as she digs into the General Tso's chicken. "Like, biological?"

"What other kind is there?"

"I don't know, Luke is kinda like a dad to me. Maybe it was one of those things?"

"Nope. He has a _blood_ -related nephew."

"But that means he has a sibling," Rory says in disbelief.

"I know. A _sister_."

"Which means he's had a sister the whole time we've known him and we've never met her."

"I _know_!"

"Why haven't we met her!"

Lorelai shrugs and picks at an egg roll. "Maybe he's embarrassed by us."

"Nah," Rory shakes her head, smiling. "Luke adores us."

"We are adorable," Lorelai agrees, offering Rory an eggroll to which she shakes her head.

"So a nephew, huh?" Rory repeats thoughtfully, chewing.

"Yep. And it gets better! His nephew is coming _here."_

"To our house?"

"Well. He's coming to Stars Hollow so basically."

"Wow. You think there's a reason Luke also hid having a nephew? Like maybe he has a freakish extra arm or something?" Rory giggles at her own suggestion and Lorelai smiles.

"It's Luke. You know how he is," she says softly, thinking about her friend.

"Yeah, I do," Rory agrees before putting her fork down.

"So when is he coming?"

"Apparently he'll be here tomorrow. Hey, you don't have to go to your group session, right? Since it's so close to Thanksgiving?"

"Mom, we have like, two weeks before Thanksgiving," Rory points out, shaking her head.

"Okay so get sick. Play hookey!" Lorelai insists, giving her daughter the best pookie face that she can muster.

"Mom, I can't."

"Please?"

"Wait, why?" Rory asks suspiciously, pointing a piece of chicken accusingly at her mother.

"Luke asked us to check in," she explains. "He said his nephew is around your age, might be good to see a young face. Seems like it's not a good situation for the guy."

Rory makes a sad face. Lorelai loved that about her, how clearly empathetic she was for anything that blinked.

"Well… I guess I could—"

"Yay! I'll call Luke!" Lorelai exclaims, running out to the living room to grab the phone before Rory could change her mind.

"Mom, I didn't agree yet!" Rory calls after her.

"Honey, mommy's on the phone, don't be rude!" Lorelai quips, giggling to herself.

This was definitely for Luke, but this was also for her. She missed Rory a lot and wanted to spend time with her. If it was under the guise of solely helping out Luke's nephew, she was willing to do that.

As Lorelai looks down at the phone, she notices a missed call from Dean.

"Hey hon?" She calls out to her daughter, starting to dial Luke's.

"Yeah?"

"Dean called babe."

* * *

Rory knits her eyebrows in confusion before a bright panic falls over her. She had completely forgotten that she had promised to call Dean as soon as she got home.

She sighs and waits for her mom to finish calling Luke. She hadn't really spent time with Dean lately. She had hung out with him a few times, but her heart _really_ hadn't been in it.

Rory didn't know why or what it was, but hanging out with Dean hadn't been as fun lately. She loved him, sure, but something was just off. Maybe it was her and how distracted she was with school and studying.

 _Or maybe it's_ who _you're distracted by, not what_ , her subconscious offers.

Rory's eyes open wide and she rushes over to the phone, hearing her mom end the call.

No.

"No, no, no. Not happening," she mumbles as she grabs the device and runs into her bedroom.

* * *

 **AN** : SORRY that this took so long. I got caught up wanting it to follow Season 2 super canon, but then couldn't find time to go back. So I hope you like the elements of it in this chapter :) I had fun writing it. I hope you like all the dialogue! Stay tuned for Jess's appearance in your favourite little town in Connecticut! Reviews appreciated!

p.s. Please check out You Can't Protest Everything if you're into politics and a Jess being a protester ~swoon.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN** : I know the timeline is a little fishy - Rory is a senior in this story when Jess comes to Stars Hollow, versus a junior - but this chapter has a lot of smushed together canon in it. It's just obviously in a different time, so things like Lorelai's relationships are sped up, and it's not all happening in the same ways :) Wanted to say that as I went. All similarities are credited to the show creators! I did try to change dialogue around to make it more unique to who I've made characters to be.

P.S. Jess is particularly melancholic this chapter. Just be ready for lots of teenage angst and sighing as we tap into the moodiness of his character ~

* * *

As the bus turns into his uncle's town, Jess sighs to himself. He watches as the bus driver turns the bend and slows down to pull off on the side of the road. This is his stop, and he knows it, but the rising bile in his throat makes him hold back as others get off before him. He didn't want to be here.

He grips his bag in his hand and busies himself with thoughts of smoking a cigarette as he walks down the steps. He felt like he was going crazy.

Stepping off the bus, he sees Luke standing in front of him. He hadn't seen Luke in a year or two, but his uncle looked exactly the same.

"Jess," Luke says with a smile, nodding at him. Jess sighs and slings his bag over his shoulder.

"Luke."

They stare at each other for a moment before it seems as though Luke gets the hint that Jess doesn't want to talk. He's thankful as his uncle gestures ahead of him, motioning for Jess to follow.

"So, how was the ride?" Luke asks as they make their way across town.

So much for Luke getting the hint.

"Like a carnival ride, only better," Jess deadpans, frowning as a group of children in matching outfits dart around them.

"Yeah, well," Luke mumbles, adjusting his hat. They're in front of the diner door now and Luke steps through. Jess considers bolting, but he knows it would be pointless.

Luke shows him around the place and leads him upstairs to his new home. Jess looks around as Luke talks, unimpressed. He had to admit it felt a lot cozier than his own apartment. Jess had a feeling he wouldn't have to worry about finding liquor bottles hidden in random drawers and couch cushions; Luke didn't come off as the partying type. That alone was comforting in all of this crap.

"Alright, so, I'm going to be closing up the diner tonight around ten," he finally hears Luke say. Had he been talking this _whole_ time? Jess dumps his things on the makeshift bed and moves some clothes around.

Jess pulls a book and his long coveted pack of cigarettes out of the mess of things and gestures towards his uncle.

"See you at ten," he chirps before turning on his heel to head out of the door.

"Wait, Jess. You need keys to get in," Luke protests, dangling the keys in his hands.

Jess stops for a second, looking over his shoulder quickly.

"No I don't," he tells Luke before closing the door behind him.

He jogs down the stairs. He pulls back the curtain and sees townspeople looking at him strangely. Jess rolls his eyes before stepping outside of the diner. He looks around.

"This is _heell_ ," he mumbles in a low sing-song tone, shoving his book into his back pocket.

People run by him jovially. It looks like something out of a Disney movie and he feels nauseous. This wasn't the life he was used to, and it certainly wasn't the life he ever dreamed of being a part of. He hangs his head, shaking it, as he walks through town.

Jess walks down the street, taking in the small town vibes and old fashioned store fronts. He passes by a small cafe where an older woman smiles, handing a young child a cupcake. His mouth falls open at the sickeningly sweet sight, and Jess knows it's time for that cigarette.

"Shit," he mutters, reaching into his pockets. Of all things to forget.

Jess looks around for somebody who doesn't look like they're related to Marsha Brady. _Someone_ in this crackpot of a town had to have a lighter.

"Hey, you got a light?" Jess asks, trying to wave down a tall boy walking on the sidewalk.

The kid stops and looks at him, cocking his head to the side before shaking it.

"Uh, sorry, no, I don't smoke," he apologizes, keeping an eyebrow raised.

"Of course you don't," Jess groans, rolling his eyes. "Do you know where I can buy one?"

"Are you new in town?" The boy asks with a laugh, taking a step closer. "This is _Stars Hollow_. You'll be lucky to find matches here."

Jess gives the guy a bored look.

" _Goody_ ," Jess scoffs, pulling the cigarette out of the corner of his mouth. "Just what I wanted, a town of hippies."

He watches as something in the boy's eyes shift.

"You won't survive here with an attitude like that," the boy says dismissively, shrugging. "Trust me, I moved here last year and thought it was pretty dumb. Turned out it's not so bad."

"Peter, was it?" Jess asks, holding out a questioning finger.

"What?" The boy asks, giving Jess a confused look.

"Or, no, was it Greg?" Jess feigns consideration, holding a hand up to his chin. "I don't need the Brady Bunch, let's-all-pretend-this-place-is-magical pep talk, so save it, pal."

"Whatever, man. I don't have time for this," the guy shrugs. He looms over Jess for a moment, glaring at him. Jess raises an eyebrow, wondering if it's a new record of how quickly he's pissed somebody off.

"Watch yourself," the kid spits out before stalking off down the sidewalk.

Jess finally allows a smile before remembering that he never got a lighter.

He sighs, shoving the cigarette into his pocket. He knew he didn't need to make any enemies if he wanted this place to work for him. New York City was a lot more anonymous; he could easily fight somebody and then avoid them if he didn't want to see their ugly mug again. But this place was a lot smaller; it looked like it had a total occupancy of twelve people.

Jess purses his lips and lets out a small growl from his throat. He resolves to be nicer to the next person he sees. He could be sociable.

He was determined to prove Liz and Principal Jeffreys wrong.

* * *

"Mom, I don't know why you had me take off," Rory complains into the phone, watching as her kitchen turns into a restaurant.

"I told you, so we can make Luke's nephew feel super welcome, the warm fuzzies and all that jazz," Lorelai answers with distraction. She had disappeared an hour ago after Sookie had asked her to pick up some preliminary things for dinner.

"But you made it sound like we were having brunch or something," Rory continues, ducking as Sookie flies by with a pan. "We're not doing anything until dinner, and I could have gone to school so I'm not behind tomorrow."

"We _are_ doing something," her mother insists into the phone. "I am running around frantically trying to find robin's egg blue napkins, because you know, _only the best for Luke's nephew_ , and you are there watching Sookie."

"I could have helped you on your errands," Rory persists.

"And what happened last time Sookie was alone in our kitchen?"

"Fine, point taken."

"I'll be back soon, sweets," Lorelai coos into the phone. "Why don't you work on your social engagement assignment? You're backed up from Sir Grumps-A-Lot being absent the last two weeks, right?"

Rory bites her lip and twirls her hair. She _was_ behind on her logs, but she also didn't want to think about Jess. His absence had been really heavy for her, and she was doing everything to avoid thinking about the fact that he also wouldn't be there for tomorrow's session. It made her sick to her stomach every time she thought about him instead of Dean.

"Yeah… I guess I could. Or work on my paper for the Franklin," she offers as an alternative, upping the happy octave in her tone.

"That's the spirit," her mother chirps into the phone. "Now, tell me, robin's egg blue - what do we think about pink Easter print instead?"

" _Bye_ ," Rory laughs.

"Gah, no help," Lorelai sputters into the phone before Rory hangs up her end.

She smiles at Sookie moving about the kitchen. It was warming to see how loved Luke was that her mom, Sookie, and Jackson were going through such great lengths for his nephew. Rory wonders if Luke has any idea.

She begins to wonder what Luke's nephew is like before Sookie grabs her attention.

"Can you run out to the store and get some fresh basil from Doose's, hon?" Sookie asks, using her foot to shut the door to the oven.

Rory raises an eyebrow.

"Isn't Jackson getting you fresh basil?" Rory asks, raising an eyebrow.

Sookie smiles nervously and looks guilty.

"Okay, I just figured that since Dean's school didn't have classes today and you're home, you'd maybe wanna get out of the house to see him since he's working there instead today," she admits with a smile.

"Is this an attempt to get me away from the kitchen?" Rory asks in mock suspicion, pointing an accusatory finger at Sookie.

"No, I swear," Sookie insists, grabbing a ladle. "It's just, your mom said you've been in such a funk lately."

Rory's face drops. She could recall a few times her mom had commented on her mood in the past week.

"I thought seeing Dean might cheer ya up," Sookie continues, smiling apologetically at Rory. She wasn't one to usually meddle.

"Thanks Sookie," Rory says slowly, her heart panging with every mention of her boyfriend.

She feels trapped. If she insists on doing homework, she has to actually do it… which means thinking about Jess or her Franklin paper, or worse, being too distracted by thoughts of Jess to write the Franklin paper. _And_ it would look even worse that she didn't want to see Dean.

She sighs, fixes a smile on her face, and gets up from the table.

"I'll go grab that fresh basil for you," Rory says as happily as she can before turning on her heel and heading out the door to Doose's.

Rory heads down the block in a fog, maneuvering the familiar bends and turns to get to the market. When she finally gets to Doose's, she feels some excitement at the prospect of seeing Dean. This gets her even more excited as she pushes through the doors, wandering the aisles to find him.

"Hey, you," she says with a smile, finally finding Dean by the canned peas.

Dean looks up at her and smiles brightly, standing up to grab Rory for a kiss. She leans in, enjoying the moment, and steps away with a smile on her face again.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Dean asks, a look of confusion on his face.

"I stayed home today to help mom with this dinner for Luke and his nephew who's coming to visit," she explains, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I thought I'd surprise you - are you surprised?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised," Dean nods, giving Rory another peck on the lips. "Hey, let me go tell Taylor I'm taking my fifteen," he tells her quickly before scurrying off.

It's only a moment before Dean is back and grabbing Rory's hand, walking outside with her to the gazebo in the town centre.

"So how's your day going?" Rory asks, plopping herself down on the steps next to Dean.

"This morning was a little weird, but otherwise, work's been fine," he says with a shrug, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance for a second.

"Weird?" Rory asks with concern, noting the look on his face.

"Well, it's just, there was this kid I've never really seen around before," Dean explains, waving his hands as he talked. "I tried being friendly but he ended up being a jerk."

Rory scrunches her mouth and gives Dean an empathetic look.

"I'm sorry. Well hey, maybe he was just a moody tourist passing through?" She suggests hopefully, nudging Dean playfully. He gives her a half smile and nudges her back.

"Yeah, maybe."

"How much longer do you have?"

"A couple of minutes. Tell me about Luke's nephew?"

Something catches Rory's eye and she watches as somebody walks into a bookstore. Something about the way he's dressed has her staring. He looked so familiar…

"Rory?" Dean checks, tucking her hair behind her ear when she doesn't answer. Rory snaps her attention back to him with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I just thought…" she trails off before shaking her head. "Never mind. What did you say?"

Dean chuckles.

"Tell me about Luke's nephew," he repeats.

"Oh," Rory says with a shrug. "I haven't met him yet."

* * *

"You don't look ready," Luke comments, gesturing outwards with his hands.

"Ready for what?" Jess asks without removing his eyes from his book.

"For dinner. With Lorelai? I told you that was for seven," Luke reminds him, looking at his watch.

"You were serious about that?" Jess groans, putting his book down. "It's only my first night here and you're parading me around like a pony."

Jess and Luke sigh together as Luke comes over to sit on the couch next to Jess's blow up mattress.

"I'm not trying to parade you," Luke apologizes, shrugging his shoulders. "I just thought it'd be good to keep your mind off…"

"Trust me, my mind is on anything but Liz," Jess scoffs with an eye roll, crossing his arms over his chest.

He watches as Luke lifts his hat and smooths back his hair. It's not that he wanted to cause Luke any stress or problems, because really, Luke didn't _have_ to take him in. But it felt easier to blame Luke for agreeing to do it. Why didn't he stick up for him to Liz?

Jess leans his head back against Luke's mattress and closes his eyes. He isn't being fair and he knows it. It wasn't Luke's fault that Liz couldn't handle herself, let alone her kid. A thought of Rory flashes through Jess's mind and his stomach jerks. It wasn't Luke's fault he couldn't stop thinking about the fact he hadn't seen this girl in almost two weeks aside from the small run-in Tuesday, either.

"Okay," Jess finally says, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Okay?" Luke asks, confusion on his face.

Jess nods.

"Okay," Luke says, nodding in agreement. He looks at his watch and grimaces. "Can you get dressed in ten minutes?"

Jess nods again and gets up, grabbing a towel and heading to the bathroom. He closes the door behind him.

* * *

Luke watches as his nephew skulks off into the bathroom. He runs his hand over his face and takes a deep breath in. He knew this had to be hard for Jess, but he didn't know what else to do besides try.

Luke purses his lips. He wouldn't let his nephew fall through the cracks. He wasn't going to be like his sister. This was something Jess could count on, and Luke really hoped that he knew it.

* * *

"You could have worn something other than a hoodie," Luke mumbles, ringing Lorelai's doorbell.

Jess gives him the side eye and stares straight ahead.

"You're right. Like my pajamas. At home," Jess says pointedly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Luke rolls his eyes.

"I'm just saying," Luke says casually, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Yeah, because plaid is _so_ in right now," Jess mocks, gesturing to Luke's outfit.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" Luke protests, gripping at his shirt to look it over.

Jess smirks but doesn't say anything as a woman with blue eyes and auburn hairs opens the door.

"Hi! Come on in guys, the food's almost ready," she says with an excited smile.

Something about her reminds Jess of a windup doll and he isn't sure if that's charming or really annoying. And something about her reminds him of somebody, but he can't put his finger on it. He nods at her and looks at Luke questioningly.

"Thanks. Hey, Lorelai, this is Jess," Luke offers, gesturing at Jess as they step inside.

"I figured. It's so nice to meet you, Jess," Lorelai says, waving her hands around. "I hope you came here with an open slate about me. Luke likes to _lie_ about how wonderful I am."

Jess doesn't really know how to respond to her, so he doesn't. He just offers a pathetic smile and nods, looking around the room.

"Okay, well, great talk," she concedes, clapping her hands together.

Jess walks around the living room, looking at all of the knickknacks. He pretends he doesn't notice Luke and Lorelai having a private conversation about him in the foyer. One photo grabs his attention. It kinda looks like…

"Jess?" Jess turns, hearing Lorelai say his name.

"Why don't you head towards the kitchen and hit the room on the right?" She suggest, waving a hand towards the doorway. "My daughter is in there. From what Luke's told me about you, you guys might hit it off. Just don't hit it off too well, she's got a boyfriend. Not that I'm saying you're the type to hit on a taken girl, you seem very nice. It's just. You know what, you can do what you want, and I'm going to go put my foot in my mouth."

Jess blinks as the rambling woman exchanges an embarrassed look with his uncle. Luke shrugs at Jess before following Lorelai into the kitchen.

He watches as Lorelai leans into the bedroom. He can't catch what her daughter's name is, but he does hear something about 'Luke's nephew is here,' so he figures he should make his grand entrance.

Luke and Lorelai emerge immediately, returning with two strangers. They're all carrying platters and a table, and Jess realizes quickly that he needs to move.

He listens to some crazy argument over a lemon and runs his hand through his hair. There was too much personality happening in this place.

He stares at the entrance to the kitchen and sighs to himself. What did he have to lose, right? The worse thing would be that this girl was hyper like Lorelai. He could probably deal with that for a night.

He shoves his hands into his hoodie pocket and walks lazily through the corridor before sticking his head in the doorway.

"Hey," he says uncertainly.

* * *

Rory is so caught up in her homework— that she _finally_ started to do—that she barely registers that somebody's at her door.

"Hey, Rory? Luke's nephew is here," Lorelai informs her, nodding towards the living room. "I told him to come say hi."

"Okay mom," Rory says distractedly, scribbling something in her notebook. She hadn't wanted to work on the logs about Jess, but she thought it might help her get rid of the circular thoughts that were buzzing in her head.

"Okay hon, well, we're gonna get set up, come out in five," Lorelai responds quickly before leaving the doorway.

Rory stares at her paper and smiles. She did feel better about the Jess thing, and seeing Dean had actually really helped her.

"Hey," a voice calls uncertainly.

Rory's eyes widen and her stomach clenches with a vengeance. That voice.

She whips her head around and can't help but gawk.

" _Jess_?" Rory asks incredulously.

She's thankful that she isn't alone in her shock. Jess stands at the doorway looking as uncomfortable as she feels, a look of disbelief on his face and eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Rory? What the hell?" Jess breathes, his mouth twitching as if he isn't sure whether to smile or not.

* * *

No sooner do the words come out of his mouth does Jess feel like he's entering the Twilight zone. Before he's even finished his sentence, Rory springs from her seat at her desk.

That same atmosphere shift from the first two times they were close happens again. The room feels so much smaller than it is. The only thing that Jess can feel is her forehead in the curve of his neck, and the only thing that he can smell is the vanilla scent of her hair.

It feels like they're hugging forever before Jess's senses pick up something other than Rory against him. He realizes somebody is watching them but he doesn't risk turning around. He simply softly nudges Rory, and she pulls apart from him.

He turns around to see nobody there, but he hears Lorelai calling for her daughter.

Jess turns back to face Rory to find her looking panicked.

"I'm, I'm sorry," she mumbles, her face turning red from embarrassment. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's… okay," Jess manages to say, rubbing the back of his head. What did this mean? What the hell was this hug?

"No, it's not, it's breaking some kind of ethics and -"

Jess grabs Rory's hand to stop her from rambling. Having met her mother, he wasn't sure he wanted to see what a less seasoned Gilmore rant might spiral into.

"It's nice to see you too," he says, shifting uncomfortably. This _so_ wasn't his element.

Seeing her face calm and perk up tells him that he said the right thing.

"Really?" She says in a small voice, turning to face him. He nods towards her before nodding towards the door.

"We should go," he says softly. He realizes he's still holding her hand and looks down at it. Rory notices too and pulls her hand back quickly, almost as if burned.

She nods at his suggestion, pausing as if she wants to say something. It seems as though she changes her mind, because she heads outside of the room.

 _Does this mean she missed me_? He thinks to himself. His head is spinning a little and he pinches the bridge of his nose. What was it that Lorelai had said?

' _Don't hit it off too well, she's got a boyfriend_.'

Jess groans. A boyfriend. So what the hell was all of this?

He really needed an aspirin. Or a beer.

The latter sounds like the better option and he skips following Rory into the living room, instead opening up the refrigerator to find what he was looking for.

He grabs a beer from the fridge and glances towards the other room, where the voices are beginning to carry. He shakes his head. Nope, not going out there.

He grips the bottle and heads out the back door for some fresh air.

* * *

 **AN** : Thanks for reading :) Reviews are always welcome and appreciated xo


	7. Chapter 7

**AN** : It should be clear but just in case it isn't - Luke and Jess's dialogue happens immediately after last chapter, but the rest of the chapter happens the next day :) Happy holidays to everyone celebrating :) My gift to you - the longest chapter yet! xxx

* * *

"Jess, what the hell happened?" Luke asks as the two walk back to the diner. It had taken Luke a few minutes to locate Jess, but once he had, they had shot out of Lorelai's like bats out of hell.

"Nothin'," Jess barks, snapping his jacket more tightly around his body.

"Well _somethin_ ' happened to get Lorelai all ticked off," Luke insists, raising his voice. "You set her off on me, you know that?"

"Sorry to burst your honeymoon period," Jess quips sarcastically, waving a hand dismissively at his uncle.

"Jess!"

Jess freezes at the tone of his uncle's voice. He takes a deep breath and turns slowly on his heel. He locks eyes with Luke, finding metaphorical daggers being shot in his direction.

"Spill," Luke commands, crossing his arms.

"Can we go somewhere warmer?" Jess asks, more softly and calmly this time. Luke considers this and looks ahead; they were only a few yards away from the diner at this point anyway.

"Fine. But I don't want your moody teenage sighing or silent treatment or whatever else you do at your age, you got it? You don't get to be James Dean tonight. Capisce?"

Jess rolls his eyes but nods.

Luke nods back at Jess and leads the way, stalking over to the diner door and unlocking it. Jess shuffles to stay warm as Luke jiggles the knob.

Once inside, the men take off their coats. Jess stares at Luke, who gestures at him. Jess rolls his eyes and pulls down a chair, setting it, and sitting on it backwards in one swift movement. Luke leans against the diner counter, waiting.

"Well?"

"Lorelai said some things. I didn't take it well. I said some things back."

"How cryptic."

"Look, Luke. She came in being all ra-ra about me needing to get over myself and be thankful for you. I was already freaked out about seeing Rory there and… I just snapped! I don't need some stranger who doesn't know me inserting their opinions about me or my life, okay?" Jess's arms move about as he talks heatedly. He feels the anger rising.

"Rory? What does Rory have to do with this?"

Jess freezes.

"Can we focus on Lorelai?" Jess grumbles, hanging his head.

Luke holds up his hands, surrendering. "Okay. What did you say to Lorelai that made her wanna rip your face off?"

"That she's either naive or sleeping with you..."

" _Jesus_ , Jess!" Luke throws his hands up in aggravation. "No wonder."

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't _intend_ to screw up the night," Jess says more softly now, looking directly at Luke.

Luke looks skeptical but sighs. He lifts his cap and smooths back his hair in traditional Luke fashion. Jess watches as Luke places it on the counter instead of back on his head.

"I know you didn't," Luke agrees softly, matching Jess's tone. He sighs.

"Did you guys fight over it?" Jess asks, looking at Luke's shoes.

"Don't worry about it. We fight sometimes," Luke says with an unconvincing smile.

Jess's mouth feels dry and he tries to swallow. He really knew how to screw things up. First that tall goofus, now Lorelai. It made it worse that he had upset Rory's mom, because that meant he probably had upset Rory. Further, he had upset Luke. He knew he wasn't in a position to be making so many enemies.

"Sorry," he finally says, looking back at his uncle. Luke nods and the two visibly squirm. It felt sentimental and sappy, sitting there as one apologized to the other.

"Now what's this about Rory?"

"Jesus…" Jess groans. He had really hoped Luke had forgotten.

"Jess!" Luke warns. "We had an agreement."

Jess picks at a cuticle.

"Lorelai saw us hugging."

"Who is us?"

"Me and Rory."

"You and Rory _hugged_?"

"Yeah… I know her," Jess says with a sigh, leaning his head back into his arms.

"Who?"

"Who do you _think_?" Jess narrows his eyes into a glare. "Didn't we just establish this? _Rory_. I know Rory."

Luke is silent for a moment, his mouth opening and closing not unlike a fish.

"You know Rory," Luke repeats.

"How many times do we have to _say_ it?" Jess groans.

"How?" Luke blurts out.

"Anger management," Jess answers simply. He exchanges a surprised look with Luke. He hadn't expected to actually tell Luke that. The plan was going to be to tell him he had community service in Norwalk; it sounded less fluffy.

Clearly taken aback by the honesty, Luke visibly stifles a laugh. It doesn't stop him from prying, though.

"Rory goes to anger management?"

Jess is both thankful and annoyed that Luke isn't commenting on his own participation at the group.

"It's for her assignment at school," Jess says softly, picking at the wooden chair.

"And she's assigned to your group?"

"Yup."

"And that's all?"

"Yup…"

"Jess, why are you hugging Rory?" Luke demands exasperatedly, running a hand across his face.

"Rory hugged _me_!" Jess says defensively. "And your guess is as good as mine. I thought she didn't like me all that much," he adds with a shrug.

"You expect me to believe Rory just up and hugged you for no reason? Especially considering she met you in _anger management_ class? She has a boyfriend, you know," Luke counters in disbelief.

"It's true! And Jesus _Christ_ , how many times are you people gonna tell me she has a boyfriend? Does _she_ know that?" Jess flares, gesturing wildly with his arm. "Because that was a pretty aggressive hug for a girl supposedly hung up on another guy."

Luke sighs and holds his hands up in surrender again.

"Look, I just don't want you to get into any kind of trouble. Messing around with a girl who has a boyfriend-"

"I'm not messing around with her. Luke, _she_ hugged _me_ ," Jess growls.

"Okay, okay. She hugged you," Luke admits defeat, reaching to grab his hat and place it back on his head.

"Can we drop this now?" Jess mutters, looking towards the stairs. "I'm beat."

"Yeah, sure," Luke says absently, staring at the ground.

"So anger management, huh?" Luke finally pipes up after they sit in an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Can you make fun later? I have a migraine," Jess protests, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why, you gonna try to fight me if I don't?" Luke jokes, smiling.

Jess gives him an annoyed look and stands up from his chair.

"Goodnight _uncle_ Luke," Jess says with a wave, emphasizing uncle. Luke hated being called that.

"It's Luke, _just_ Luke, you hear me?" Luke calls after Jess, following him up the stairs.

* * *

Lorelai stares as Rory chews thoughtfully on a piece of her poptart, staring down at it in her hand. Lorelai sighs and wraps her hands around her own coffee cup.

Lorelai had waited until company was gone the previous night to ask about the hugging. Apparently she had gone over to see where the two were and, upon seeing it, had quickly slipped away. Rory hadn't quite been interested in talking to her then, still needing to process, and had promised her mother that they could discuss this morning.

The only problem was that Rory still wasn't ready to talk about it. She still had so many unanswered questions, and only Jess could truly answer them. Maybe even Luke.

"So are you gonna tell me what that's all about?" Lorelai asks finally, taking a sip of the java. It seemed she had grown tired of watching her daughter stare at her pastry.

"There's nothing to tell," Rory lies, trying her best to channel Jess and shrug nonchalantly. She steals a peek at her mom and knows she didn't quite succeed.

"I beg to differ," her mother says with a flippant wave. "I walk by your room and see you _hugging_ Luke's nephew, then I go in the kitchen to find said jerk of a nephew, only to have to go outside to see him snapping the cap off a beer on our back porch!"

Rory's eyes shoot up defensively at the word 'jerk,' but she knows she isn't really in a spot to defend Jess. When Rory doesn't chime in, her mother continues.

"And _then_ I try to help the kid feel better about being shanghai'd into coming to Stars Hollow— _without_ mentioning to him, 'Oh, by the way, why did you hug my daughter? Especially after I told you she had a boyfriend,' which I thought was quite noble of me—"

"You told him about _Dean_?" Rory finally flares, raising her voice.

Lorelai gives her a strange look.

"Yes, I did, unless there's a reason I should have hid that?" Lorelai challenges, raising her eyebrows.

Rory ducks her head before raising her voice again.

"No, you shouldn't have, but I should get to tell people whether or not I have a boyfriend. It's my personal stuff, and you have no right telling random people my personal stuff!"

"Fine, Rory," Lorelai bites back. "Whatever, I don't care." This clearly wasn't the battle Lorelai wanted to wage.

"Fine," Rory agrees, looking into her lap.

"Okay then, can I finish ranting?"

Rory rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest, signaling for her mom to continue.

" _Then_ , after I'm trying to be _nice_ , after I've invited the little punk into _my home_ , he accuses me of sleeping with Luke? What nerve or right does this kid think he has!" Lorelai finishes dramatically, throwing up her hands and letting them fall back on the table for emphasis.

Rory takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She knows there isn't a point in being upset with her mom. Jess wasn't _a_ jerk, but he _had_ acted like one. And it wasn't Lorelai's fault that Rory had launched herself at Jess and was feeling guilty over it now.

"That was out of line," Rory agrees, softening her expression.

She locks eyes with her mom, who had been staring intensely, waiting for Rory's response. Lorelai softens at Rory's retreat.

"Rory. Tell me. What was up with that hug?" Lorelai asks more calmly this time.

Rory sighs one of the deepest sighs she thinks she's ever sighed, and she puts her head in her hands, propping her elbows up on the table.

"I know him," she says quietly.

"You know who?"

"Barry Manilow, mom, who else?" Rory mumbles, giving her mom an eyeroll.

"Well sorry, I just wanted to be clear. Jess? You know Jess? Okay," Lorelai breathes deeply. "How do you know Jess?"

"Um," Rory bites her lip, faltering. Would this be breaking confidentiality? Could she get in trouble for this.

"I don't know if… I guess I have to tell you," she adds, mulling it over. Rory really did want Lorelai's advice on bringing up the conflict with her teacher. If Jess was living in Stars Hollow, she might not be able to go to that group anymore… she hoped that didn't happen, though. It would be so much work to catch up on.

 _And you might not get to see Jess_ , her subconscious pipes in. Rory shakes her head of the thought.

"Okay, but you have to promise to keep this all to yourself, okay?" Rory checks, giving her mom a serious look.

Lorelai nods. "Okay."

"Okay," Rory repeats, hugging herself. She goes on.

"I know Jess because… he's in the anger management group I go to. Mom, don't give me that look."

"What look? I didn't give you a look!"

"A 'well that makes all the sense in the world' look. Believe it or not, Jess is actually really nice. He seems like the last person who belongs there. Well, he does have an issue with authority…"

"I can see this."

"Mom!"

"Sorry. Go on. He's in the group from class?"

"Yeah," Rory nods, biting her lip again. "He's the guy that… well—"

" _No_!" Lorelai gasps. " _Jess_ is Sir-Grumps-A-Lot?! The guy you've come home complaining about for months on end?"

"It hasn't been _months_ ," Rory protests, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest.

"Um, yuh-huh," Lorelai disagrees pointedly. "I can't believe this! Wow. So Jess is _the_ guy from anger management. Suddenly this all makes sense. What a small world."

"It certainly feels that way," Rory pouts.

"But why were you hugging him, hon? I thought he 'annoyed your soul,' if I remember that one right," Lorelai asks.

Rory furrows her eyebrows and looks at her mom hopelessly. She throws her arms down on the table.

"I don't know," she admits, laying her head down on her arms, feeling defeated.

"Do you like Jess?" Lorelai asks. Rory's head shoots up as she sees her mom looking at her with curiously sad eyes.

"No! I love Dean," Rory declares, pursing her lips.

"That doesn't mean you don't like Jess," Lorelai points out. "You can love somebody and still develop a crush on somebody else."

"Well I don't and maybe other people can but I can't," Rory insists, shaking her head. "Dean will be my boyfriend forever." She wasn't ready for this conversation.

Rory looks at her mom and sees the look of disbelief on Lorelai's face. Lorelai doesn't look convinced, and if Rory was willing to be honest with herself, she wasn't convinced either. But thinking about not being with Dean was painful.

"Okay," Lorelai says slowly, fidgeting with her coffee. "But just think about it, okay? Why else would you be hugging somebody you've claimed to be annoyed with? Maybe you've been annoyed at him because you're developing feelin—"

"Mom, I'm done talking about this. I love Dean. That's it," Rory snaps, glaring at her mom with a fire in her eyes.

Lorelai's face flashes anger but it quickly shifts into something like wisdom, like Lorelai knows some great secret that her daughter doesn't. Rory wonders if a face can look wise.

"Okay. Just think about it," Lorelai presses, putting her hand on top of Rory's arm. Rory sighs and nods in agreement.

"So what does this mean for your assignment?" Lorelai asks then, hoping to lighten the mood by shifting away from direct talk about the guy in question.

"I actually wanted your advice about it," Rory begins, finishing her poptart and leaning in.

* * *

As Rory gushes to her mother about her ethical concerns, Lorelai is only partially listening.

She knows guys like Jess, and she knows how they can draw you in. They're charismatic and badass and their brooding nature is _oh_ so sexy. But it's trouble, Lorelai remembers.

Lorelai's worried of course. She's worried about her daughter falling for some punk who goes to anger management and who clearly has a gigantic chip on his shoulder. But she can see where this is going, and she knows Rory won't be ready for it until it hits her like a two-by-four.

She wonders how quickly this thing with Jess will cause the Rory-Dean ship to sink. She thinks about whether she's prepared for her daughter's first major breakup… and whether or not Rory is prepared for it, too.

* * *

"It's really up to the model of the Intrepid Center," Ms. Gialli says with a sympathetic smile. "They may not let you stay in that group."

Rory's legs feel wobbly. She clutches her books more tightly against her chest and shifts her weight on her heels.

"But that's so much work to make up," Rory protests. "I'd never be able to catch up in time — it's already November, we've been at the groups for nearly three months."

Ms. Gialli nods and reaches out her hand to touch Rory's arm.

"I know, Rory. It would affect your work in the Spring, but as for your Fall pieces, you submitting what you have from the Intrepid Center would be good enough for me," the teacher insists, taking her hand back. Rory frowns.

"I know it isn't ideal, but we can find a way to make the biopsychosocial work if the Intrepid Center asks you to leave. Group work is really mezzo level practice, so there's a chance they won't care. If they lean more clinical, though, your client living in your town will be an issue."

Rory sighs and blows her hair away from her face.

"I know it will be weird to see this client around and severing that relationship you got from joining his sessions, but I'm sure it won't be too bad."

Rory bites her lip.

"Thanks, Ms. Gialli. I still go to group tonight?" Rory asks, trying to offer a small smile that her heart _really_ isn't into. Her teacher nods.

"Yes. Go to group tonight as usual, and Ms. Leon will let you know either way."

"Thanks," Rory offers again. Ms. Gialli smiles with a little wave and, with that, Rory exits the room. She closes the door behind her and stares at the wall in the hallway.

Before Rory knows it, her feet are carrying her away from the classroom and over to the front doors of Chilton. Rory rounds the bend and jumps into her mom's jeep.

She peels out of the parking lot, driving in a bit of a fog. Rory doesn't stop until she's pulled up in her driveway. Rory knows Lorelai will be at the inn, so she parks the jeep and takes to walking.

In a matter of minutes, she's marching through the diner.

"Luke!"

Luke looks up from an order he's taking, surprised. He raises his eyebrows.

"Rory? Don't you have school?"

"Um, it was a half day," Rory fibs, shifting uncomfortably. She needed to do this while she still had the nerve.

"Oh, well does your mom kn—"

"Where's Jess?"

"Jess?"

"Yes."

"Uh, h-he's upstairs," Luke stutters, apparently unaccustom to the firmness of her newfound confidence.

"Thanks," Rory nods before marching herself past Luke's perplexed face and upstairs to find the guy in question.

She sees the door is ajar, but Rory feels uncomfortable just walking in. She's known Luke for years, but she's never really been inside of his apartment. Rory knocks hesitantly and hugs her arms to her body to keep them from shaking with nerves.

She didn't know what her problem was. All Rory knew was that she needed to see Jess, to talk to him. If she was going to have to leave the group, she didn't know what it meant for the budding friendship between them. Rory just felt that Jess had a right to know.

Warmth and something akin to anxiety wash over her as familiar brown eyes open the door to look at her. Jess's expression goes from surprise to a softness that she can't quite read. Rory smiles awkwardly.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"We need to talk," Rory informs him, shuffling in the hallway. She stares at her feet.

She had just been so determined to come up here to see him… and now, suddenly Rory felt like a shy school girl. It probably didn't help that she was still in her Chilton uniform.

"Okay," Jess says simply, moving aside so that she can come in.

"Not here. Luke's downstairs."

Jess gives Rory a curious look but he shrugs and turns to grab his jacket. Rory can't help but notice a book in his back pocket, and she wonders with great curiosity what has been occupying him the last two weeks. One of her favourite things was that they could talk about books.

Jess slips off his t-shirt to replace it with a hoodie and Rory looks away, a blush rushing to her face. Jess still had a thermal on, but it was tight-fitting, and it brought up scary thoughts to Rory's head—thoughts she'd never had about Dean and certainly ones she'd never thought she'd think about Jess. Where the heck was this all coming from? It made her truly think she was losing her mind.

She feels Jess's eyes burning a hole in the back of her head, and Rory jumps when she feels his hand on her back.

Internal electricity zaps Rory but she fights it off this time, turning to look at him.

"Let's go," he says softly, gesturing towards the door. He now had a jacket over his hoodie and Rory relaxes, breathing a thankful sigh. The more layers the better. She follows him out.

Instead of heading down the stairs, Jess walks down the hallway adjacent to them.

Rory pauses behind him, staring at him curiously.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm assuming you don't want Luke to know we're leaving together?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, no," she admits.

"Okay, so I'm going out my way. You go out the normal way," he says with a smirk.

There was something thrilling about this that she couldn't quite explain, and Rory smiles. She nods and heads down the stairs, trying to think fast on how to pass Luke without being suspicious.

* * *

Jess falls lightly onto his feet from the roof ledge in the back. A million thoughts are running through his head, but the most important in his mind is why Rory wants to talk. In his lifetime, a girl saying they needed to talk never worked out quite in his favor.

He wipes his hands on his jeans and shoves them into his pocket, walking around the back. He peeks his head around the corner, watching Luke through the blinds. He sees Luke wave goodbye as Rory flies out of the diner, clearly in a rush to get away from the establishment. He figures she isn't a regular at lying.

Jess waits for Luke to turn and then stands off to the side. He whistles to catch Rory's attention, who is looking around wildly for him. Rory smiles when she sees Jess and his heart clenches. He didn't know what it was about that smile that did this to him, but it was getting annoying.

"Hey," the brunette says breathlessly, running her hands up and down her arms. It _was_ pretty cold out today.

Jess reaches into his pockets and offers his hands to Rory. She peers skeptically at the gloves they're holding.

"You _would_ wear fingerless gloves," Rory teases, shaking her head with a smile. She grabs the gloves from his hands after some hesitation and slips them on.

Something appears in her eyes and Jess reads it immediately. He watches as she lightly touches her palms with her fingers, almost caressing the gloves, and he realizes she's thinking about the fact that his hands have worn those gloves. He isn't quite sure how he knows. He just… does.

He smirks because he can't help it and nods his head to the left, motioning for her to follow. Rory looks around her and nods, quickening her pace to pass him.

They walk in a comfortable silence. Jess is surprised how easily this comes, walking next to this girl he knows in passing as if he's known her forever. Jess shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the thought and the feelings that came with it. He didn't know where this conversation was going to go, and he didn't need to get sappy now.

The two look up at the same time and Rory smiles. They reach the bridge and she laughs.

"How did you know I wanted to come here?" She asks lightly, waving a hand at the bridge. "This is my thinking spot."

Jess gives her a look.

"What?" She asks, turning to face him.

"Nothin'. I just like this spot too. I found it after pissing off some beanstalk the other day," Jess says with a smirk, shrugging his shoulders.

Rory looks at him strangely.

"Some beanstalk?"

"Some goof took it upon himself to be the welcoming committee," Jess says dismissively. "As I'm sure your mother can attest to, I don't take well to that."

He winces at the fierce look that Rory gives him and he realizes mentioning Lorelai was probably a bad idea. She continues staring at him until it looks like something connects in her head.

"Did this beanstalk happen to have dark brown hair and be wearing a maroon sweater?" Rory asks, biting her lip.

Jess looks at her for a second in disbelief before his eyes darken reluctantly as everything clicks. This town was like a frickin' Disney theme park.

"Your boyfriend?" He asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

Rory nods and offers an awkward laugh. Jess looks up at the sky, wondering what kind of joke was being played on him. He was sure this was what being Punk'd felt like. It _had_ to be a joke; how else could it be that he had pissed off almost everyone important to the girl in front of him in a matter of 24 hours?

He shakes his head and walks to the middle of the bridge, plopping himself down on the edge. Rory follows him, sitting with just enough distance between them.

Jess sighs.

"So you wanted to talk?" He croaks, his throat dry.

"Yeah," Rory says, tucking her hands into her jacket.

"Oh," she asks suddenly, holding up her hand. "Do you want these back?"

Something stupid inside of Jess takes over and he reaches out, grabbing her hand with his. He moves her hand this way and that as if trying to decide something. Jess then runs his thumb lightly over the palm of her hand and looks at her.

"No, they look better on you," he says softly.

Rory's cheeks immediately turn pink and she looks down. He likes how shy she gets, and he wants to smile. He likes that this is all from his touch and not from some sarcastic quip. It was a different kind of flush - one from intimacy and not just from getting a rise out of her.

He drops her hand, finally coming to his senses, and clears his throat.

"Jess?" She asks, not looking up at him.

"Rory?" He returns, leaning away from her. He shifts so that his legs are crossed and he's facing her. Rory seems to relax, and Jess is happy that the intelligent part of him is in control.

She scoots back and crosses her legs, mimicking his position. Rory places her hands in her lap and looks up at him.

"I'm sorry," she blurts out, sighing. Jess must look surprised because she continues. "I feel like I screwed up by hugging you. I don't know what came over me."

Jess's mouth twitches to hold back a frown and he looks out to the water.

"It's fine," he says finally.

"No, it's not," Rory insists, leaning in towards him. "If I didn't freak you out, you and my mom probably wouldn't have fought. Which means her and Luke probably wouldn't have argued. And, well, did you and Luke fight?"

Jess shrugs. "Not exactly."

"Well I'm sorry for whatever it was. Really. You have enough going on, the last thing you need is to be forced into my company," Rory apologizes.

Jess turns his head to face her and his stomach jerks, realizing how close she is. _Does she even realize how close she's leaning in_? He wonders to himself.

"It didn't freak me out," Jess insists, leaning back on his hands. "Don't give me that look, Gilmore. I mean I was surprised, sure. I didn't think you liked me all that much."

"Of course I like you," Rory retorts.

Jess raises his eyebrows and a half smile threatening to become a smirk graces his lips. "Do you?"

The look on her face says that she realizes what she's said and how he's taking it and Rory backtracks. "I don't mean like, like. Like, _like_. I just mean as a person. I don't dislike you."

Jess is smiling now, watching her squirm. She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "You just love doing that."

"Your rambles are entertaining."

"Well I'm glad you find enjoyment in my misery."

The two are silent as Rory calms back down. She looks at him and cocks her head.

"What?" She asks uncertainly, a small laugh escaping her. "What's with the look?"

The stupid wins over again. "Nothin'. It's just. You're apologizing for hugging me."

"And?"

"It's kind've weird."

"I just… I just feel responsible for the fights and the forcing. You barely know me and I just charged you. I didn't even give you a choice to say you didn't want to be close to me. I'm sorry for forcing you," she apologizes again. Jess shakes his head.

"What if I like it?" He asks before he knows what he's doing.

"Like what?"

"Being close to you?"

It slips out but Jess can't take it back now. He curses the rational part of his brain for losing out to the stupid part that kept making an appearance. _She has a boyfriend, you're asking for it, Mariano_ , he scolds himself.

Rory looks at him like a deer in headlights and he begins kicking himself mentally, wondering how to steer this conversation away from him getting his soul crushed. He had to be realistic with himself now; he kind've sort've maybe did have feelings for Rory, and it would kind've sort've suck to be reminded _again_ that she had a boyfriend and thus couldn't have her.

"Rory, I…" He starts his apology, hoping to deflect the awkward tension rising.

"Jess, I might not be able to go to the Intrepid Center anymore," Rory blurts out. Jess internally heaves a gigantic sigh. She had successfully steered them clear. He's happy until the weight of what she's saying hits him.

"Oh."

"I have to go tonight to find out if Ms. Leon has approved it," she continues, biting her lip.

Jess shrugs. "It is what it is."

"You're not upset?" Rory checks, searching his face. She looks disappointed, and Jess runs his hand through his hair.

"If you have to go, does me being upset change that?" He asks seriously. She looks like she's mulling it over before she sighs.

"No, I guess not."

"Okay then. No need to worry," he says simply.

"Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you go there, anyway?"

Evasive maneuver. "You hungry? We can go get food or something since you… hey, did you ditch school to come talk to me?"

Rory flushes again and he knows his answer.

"S-stop trying to change the subject," she demands loosely, fidgeting with her hands.

"So you did miss me, Teach," he teases. She glares at him and he settles for smiling back at her.

"Fine. But you know I have access to your file," Rory threatens, smoothing out her skirt. "I could just look."

Jess shrugs and locks eyes with her, a challenge. "Isn't it more fun trying to convince me?" His eyes dance with laughter.

Rory rolls her eyes. She tries to glare again but it just comes out as a smile. Jess laughs.

"Jess, I don't know how to do this."

"Do what?"

"This? Talk to you like a regular person? Live in the same town as you?"

Jess feels his pride deflating a little. "Like a _regular_ person? You think I'm some hot head like the rest of those dinks."

He stands up in mild frustration. Jess definitely wasn't ready for this conversation. He turns away from Rory, trying to compose himself. He knows he isn't making a case for himself by overreacting. Rory scrambles up after him and grabs his shoulder.

"No, Jess, that's not what I mean. I mean just being able to talk to you because I want to, when I want to. Not just in snippets after group when we both have long commutes because we're required to be in the same place."

Jess turns to look at Rory then. He felt better about her reply. He looks at her hand on his shoulder and the proximity of their faces. He can feel the static between them.

"Do you feel it?" She asks suddenly.

Jess tenses. "Feel what?" How did she _know_?

She looks embarrassed and looks down at her shoes shyly. "Nothing. Nevermind."

Jess pinches the bridge of his nose. He _could_ tell her that he knows exactly what she's talking about, that he feels it too, and that it shocks him every single time. But Rory plasters on a smile and looks back up at him, and he knows he's missed the moment to respond again.

"Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that… that I was sorry and that I might see you less," she says, shifting her weight into her right hip.

"Okay," Jess says softly. "But you know, we live in the same town now." He watches a look of confusion cross her face.

"We don't have to see each other less," he points out, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Really?" She smiles brightly now. He wants to smile back but he doesn't.

"Yeah. Whenever," he says with a shrug, waving his arm at the surrounding area. She smiles again and shivers, looking around them.

"Rory?"

She looks back at him, still smiling. He doesn't want her to stop looking at him like that, he realizes. But he wants to ask and he knows he has to, because that smile belongs to somebody else.

"What about your boyfriend?"

And just like that, the smile is wiped from her face. She knits her eyebrows together and digs her shoe into the bridge.

"What about him?"

"He'll be okay with us spending time together? Once he finds out who I am, I mean," Jess asks, looking down at his shoes, too. "I kinda ticked the guy off pretty bad."

"Well… maybe not," she mumbles, pouting.

Jess laughs. He throws an arm around Rory's shoulder, doing his best to make it seem like a friendly gesture. She startles for a moment before allowing him to lead her away from the bridge and back to the diner.

"We'll see each other around," he assures her lightly, absently letting his thumb rub the back of her shoulder. "Your life will be too dull without me."

Rory rolls her eyes. She then smiles and nods, sighing. Once they get closer to the town, she shrugs her shoulder. Jess takes this as his cue to back off. It doesn't feel good, but he knows this is out of line anyway. It started as a friendly gesture, but admittedly it felt nice to have his arm around her. It was just something about the way she let him step over that line that made him want to keep pushing his luck.

"Well, I should probably get going," Rory says suddenly, smiling apologetically at Jess.

He clears his throat and nods. "Back to school?"

"I mean, I did cut class. I should probably head back."

"I was serious about whether you were hungry," he hears himself saying. "Not right now, I guess, because you have to go. But maybe if you don't get kicked out of group, we can go somewhere next Tuesday."

Rory looks pained. "Jess, I—"

"It's not a date," he holds his hand up in surrender. "It's just food. You eat, don't you?"

"I eat," she confirms.

"You can even tell whatshisname to come."

"Dean?"

 _What a dinky name_.

"Yeah, him."

Rory smiles. "Okay. I'll think about it."

Jess chuckles and shrugs. "Whatever."

The two continue to walk for a bit and Rory steps away. "I parked the car at home," she explains.

"Okay."

She starts to pull off the gloves, handing them back over to Jess. "Here, before I steal them."

He looks at the gloves and shakes his head. "Keep 'em. I have more at Luke's."

Rory looks like she wants to protest but doesn't. She just smiles softly. "Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory."

She turns around and then hesitates. Jess watches her curiously. Rory whips back around and steps into him. Jess reacts instinctively and wraps his arms around her for the second time in 24 hours. It's a much quicker hug this time; the tension feels more pronounced, and it seems like both of them need to step away. There was that static again.

"Oh God," Rory mumbles to herself. "Bye!" She starts to hurry away.

"Rory!"

She turns around, looking panicked.

He now looks down, suddenly shy. Jess had never been so vulnerable with anyone, and he really wasn't a fan. He would rather go back to his days of only giving a crap about himself. None of this emotional stuff. He smiles a small smile to himself, thinking about how his mother once said he was like his uncle. He's only been with Luke for two days now, but he figures it's true.

"I feel it, too."

An unreadable look comes on her face. She looks like she wants to respond, but she bites her lip and rushes towards home.

He groans and looks at the sky. What was he doing? He was just asking for trouble, he knew it.

 _But she hugged you. Again_ , his brain tells him. Jess considers this.

That was true. Maybe he _was_ asking for trouble. She had a boyfriend. But boyfriends weren't husbands, and even those weren't permanent. Liz had sure taught him that. But maybe he had a shot at this, too. She _did_ initiate a hug, twice. She _had_ cut school to come talk to him. Jess didn't want to be bold, but he had a feeling she'd never cut class for Dean.

He purses his lips and shakes his head.

 _You don't know what she's thinking_ , he reminds himself. _You could just be an infatuation_.

This one stings and he snaps his jacket closed, zipping it up. He turns to head back to the diner, lost in his thoughts. An infatuation? Only one way to find out.

* * *

Rory walks to her house quickly. She gets inside of the jeep again and just sits, staring ahead of her. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

 _He feels it, too?_

Rory smiles, feeling a little giddy at the returned sentiment. She leans her head back on her seat. So she wasn't crazy. That felt good to know, at least.

But she still didn't understand _why_ it felt like sparks were quite literally flying whenever she was next to this kid. She never felt this way with Dean, even in the beginning.

She sighs in frustration at her realization. She had hugged Jess again, a guy who wasn't her guy, she she couldn't take it back. What's more, Rory finally admits to herself, she didn't _want_ to take it back.

After a moment of sitting with her thoughts, Rory realizes that she's been absently running her thumb over the gloves. She looks down at the charcoal fabric and wonders how long Jess has owned these. They're comfortable but loose—just a bit too big for her small hands.

She wonders what holding his hand feels like. Not the brushing that comes from taking gloves from him, but really lacing her fingers with his, feeling the warmth of his palms against hers.

It probably wouldn't have mattered if she'd reached out to touch him; after all, Jess let Rory hug him, didn't he? So maybe she could have, if she wanted to. Jess had finally **made** it pretty clear to her that he might like her, hadn't he?

 _Either that or he's just messing with you like always_ , she tells herself.

Rory shakes her head. That would be cruel of him, and Jess wasn't that kind of guy, she decides.

She ignores the thoughts telling her that she doesn't actually know him very well. Jess was great as far as she was concerned. He was intelligent and quick witted and warm, and he seemed to treat her nicer than anyone else around her. And she loved his eyes, the way they peered into her as he smirked...

"I wonder what his lips feel like," she hears herself saying.

Rory's eyes bug out of her head and she clamps her hand over her mouth, as if others could hear her.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she mumbles to herself over and over. She reaches for the keys, turns them into the ignition, and starts backing out to return to Chilton.

What was she doing thinking about Jess's hands? His possible feelings for her? His _lips_? She had a boyfriend. She had Dean. She should only be thinking about Dean's hands and lips and anything else. She loved Dean!

Right?

* * *

 **AN** : I hope you liked the fluff! I like this Jess better - the moody kid who is more open about his feelings. I know we didn't get a lot of Rory's perspective this time around, but I thought it was important to tap into how Jess feels about Rory, since we don't get that in the show. :) Hopefully the reworked elements of canon work here! Thank you all for the reviews and feedback. I wish my anonymous folks had accounts so I could reply to their reviews, but know that I cherish them all. Taming Hemingway is going to take a little priority for the next few weeks over the other fanfictions because it's coming more naturally. You Can't Protest Everything is second in command right now... anyways, the next chapter of this should hopefully be up by the new year :) Thanks for the follows - please continue to review, it really helps me out to know what's working!


	8. Chapter 8

**AN** : Thank you to everyone who posted positive comments about the chapter! It took me a lot time to write it so I'm glad it was well received :) I hope that I replied to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize! Holidays are hectic for me. Sorry this is up later than planned! Enjoy xo

P.s. Is anyone annoyed by the direct messaging? Would people prefer I respond to feedback at the end of chapters to de-clutter your inboxes? I just want to make sure people feel thanked!

* * *

Rory shoots up in her seat.

"So I can stay?"

It was all Rory could to do hold in her excitement at Ms. Leon's declaration. She was seated in a chair next to Ms. Leon's desk, staring at her incredulously. Ms. Leon smiles at Rory and nods.

"Oh thank you," Rory continues, letting herself smile brightly. "It would have been so much work to catch up on at Chilton, and I really love observing you facilitate."

Ms. Leon gives Rory a look. Rory's stomach drops; she knows that look from her mother. It meant something not awesome was coming.

"There's just one thing, Rory," Ms. Leon says, folding her hands together. Rory swallows and bites her lip on the inside.

"Yeah?"

"You'll need to be removed from Mr. Mariano's individual sessions," the older woman continues, offering Rory an apologetic smile. Rory returns the smile with a look of confusion, so Ms. Leon goes on.

"Everyone is going to have favourites in group work," she explains. "But we want to minimize how obvious that is in a group context to mitigate any feelings of unworthiness for the clients."

Rory's eyebrows knit together. "What does this have to do with the individual therapy sessions?"

"I've noticed you've gotten quite attached to Mr. Mariano—"

"Ms. Leon, I—"

"Now, now," Ms. Leon holds up a hand to silence Rory. "I know what I see. You talk almost every time after group, and Denise tells me how engaged you are during sessions. This isn't a punishment, Rory. But I'm calling it how I see it. With Mr. Mariano moving to your neighborhood, it will be better for him to have private time to be able to process the transition without feeling like he has a second shadow. I think it's important for you to stay in the group, but I'm very firm on you going to another person for individual."

Rory sucks in a breath and blows it out slowly. She crosses her arms across her chest and stares at her feet. _Why_ was everyone so insistent on telling her that she had feelings for Jess? So he was appealing to her — big deal! She loved Dean; that didn't mean she couldn't be friends with other guys, did it?

Rory looks up at Ms. Leon and nods.

"I think it would be a nice change of pace if you sat in with Samuel," Ms. Leon continues. "He's Tuesdays after group; is that okay with your schedule?"

Rory picks at a cuticle. It flashes through her mind that Jess had wanted to meet with her Tuesday night. She shakes her head. She couldn't plan her schedule around some guy who was only sort of a friend.

"Sure, I think that will be fine," Rory says with an unconvincing smile. "Thank you for being so accommodating. You won't regret it, I promise!"

Ms. Leon smiles and reaches out to brush Rory's arm, a warm gesture.

"I know I won't."

Rory nods and gets up to leave. She makes it to the door when Ms. Leon calls her.

"Make sure that you keep whatever happens at home private," Ms. Leon reminds her. "Whatever does or doesn't happen between you and Mr. Mariano _must_ stay outside of the group dynamics, and whatever does or doesn't happen inside of the group must _stay_ inside of the group."

She nods. Rory rushes out of the room as her stomach clenches at yet another mention of something possibly happening with Jess.

Rory walks to the jeep, feeling foggy. She had really grown to like her Thursday night conversations with Jess. It would be strange to have them with Samuel… or anyone else, for that matter. Rory was a creature of habit, that much was certain. She hated when the script was flipped on her, even if she did trust Ms. Leon's judgment.

Rory knew she should be grateful. She _was_ happy that she didn't have to leave the group. It meant no makeshift assignments or catching up; her grades would remain unaffected. And it meant that she _did_ get to see Jess twice a week, no matter what happened.

" _No matter what does or doesn't happen between you and Mr. Mariano_ ," she hears Ms. Leon say in her head.

Rory purses her lips and gets into the jeep, slamming the door.

 _Nothing is going to happen, period_ , Rory tells herself.

She puts the key in the ignition and starts the engine. She feels her pager go off and checks it, only to see Dean's number pop up on the screen.

Rory sighs and looks at her hands. She puts them back on the steering wheel and drives home, feeling entirely unconvinced that there wasn't already something happening. Rory makes a mental note to call Dean when she gets home and not forget about it like she had done with the previous three pages.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hi."

Jess sits up on his blowup mattress and looks at the clock. It was nearing 8:00, right around the time he would walk Rory out to her car. He smiles.

"Hey."

"I talked to Ms. Leon today," Rory says into the phone.

Jess inhales sharply and sits up. Rory didn't sound that upset, did she? Was her tone calm, or perhaps indifferent? Maybe everything was fine and she didn't have to leave group. Or maybe she _did_ have to leave group and was regretting the hug, and that's why she didn't sound that upset. Maybe he _was_ just an infatuation.

 _Or you could ask her instead of being a punk about it_ , his subconscious scolds.

Jess grits his teeth and rolls his eyes. That was probably the lamest mental dialogue he'd allowed himself in his entire life.

"Oh," he hears himself saying coolly. He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah… are you home alone?"

Jess raises an eyebrow on his end. "Why? You planning on coming to keep me company?"

He can almost hear her blushing on the other end and he can't help but smirk.

"I hate you," Rory grumbles into the phone. "You're worse than my mother."

"Ouch, that stings, Ms. Gilmore," Jess pouts into the phone. The two laugh and a calm settles over the conversation.

 _I guess if she was regretting everything we wouldn't still be on the phone, so._

"So what did the old hag say?" He asks, leaning back on his elbows. Rory sounds scandalized.

"Jess! Don't call Ms. Leon that! She's the reason I get to stay," Rory blurts out.

There's a silence as Jess processes what Rory had said.

"Huh," he muses.

"Oh, well, that's why I called. I went to group today, and instead of staying for your s—well, I talked to Ms. Leon and she agreed to let me stay."

Jess lets out a slow breath and smiles a small smile.

"Okay," he says simply.

"I'm not on your sessions anymore, though," Rory adds, sounding sullen.

Jess considers this. It was disappointing that he wouldn't have that one on one time anymore. Jess sits up and turns himself to lean his back against Luke's bed. Something clicks. They lived in the same town, didn't they?

"That's not so bad," he tells her, listening to try to hear a reaction.

"It's not?" She sounds disappointed.

"No. We live in the same town, don't we? It probably makes more sense if we start carpooling."

Rory laughs, and Jess can almost hear her smiling as she talks. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad, then. Hey, you're not just trying to use me for my gas, are you?"

"Hey, I have nothing but honorable intentions," Jess defends, smirking to himself. "Besides, I wouldn't expect you to brunt the weight. I'm gonna help Luke at the diner, so I'll have money."

"Whatever you say, Mariano," Rory laughs into the phone.

"That's how I like my women—obedient." Jess waits for the explosion, holding back a laugh.

"What!"

"I'm kidding," he insists, letting his laugh fill the receiver. There's a slight pause on Rory's end and he takes the opportunity to ask what's on his mind.

"Why didn't you wait?" Jess finds himself asking, laying down on the mattress.

"Wait for what?" Rory sounds confused over the line.

"To tell me in person?"

There's a pause on the other end.

"I just wanted you to know," she says softly.

Jess's stomach clenches. He smiles. He would be lying to himself if he said it didn't feel nice to know that she cared enough about how he'd react to call him.

"I'm glad you called," he says sincerely.

"Yeah?" She sounds hopeful.

"Yeah," Jess assures her, stretching an arm behind his head.

* * *

"But Rory, that's so late, can't I come get you?" Dean asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"No, Dean, really. You work late on Tuesdays and to have to come all the way down to get me? I'll get home quicker and you'll be less exhausted, I promise," Rory insists.

Rory fidgets with her keys then and looks down at her porch steps, away from Dean's gaze. She was getting that guilty, nauseous feeling in her stomach again. It had been coming around a lot lately, and it usually had something to do with Jess.

Dean sighs and leans down to kiss Rory on the lips. She smiles into the kiss and tries to maintain it as she pulls away.

"Alright, well, just call me when you're leaving, okay? Maybe we can talk in the car," Dean says with a shrug, sighing.

Rory nods, looking at Dean curiously. He looks something akin to defeated, and it hurts her that she put that there. She reaches up to grab his face and gives him a forceful kiss, pulling him in closer to her. He reciprocates for a few seconds before he pulls away, smiling.

"Call me," Dean repeats.

Rory smiles at him. Little things like this really made her remember why she dated Dean. He was so understanding so much of the time.

Rory steps away from her boyfriend, giving a small wave, and gets into the jeep. She rolls down the window and Dean walks over, leaning in to give her another quick peck.

"Bye," Rory says with another wave.

Dean smiles and steps away as Rory rolls the window back up. She starts the ignition and begins backing out of the driveway, noticing Dean waving back.

Rory sighs as she turns down the block. Dean was such a good boyfriend. He was sweet and kind, and he was always concerned with her wellbeing. Her thoughts immediately turn to Jess. Tears well up in Rory's eyes and she pulls off to the side of the road, waiting for them to spill over.

She hated this.

* * *

"Lorelai," Michel drolls, pushing through the door to the kitchen.

"Yes, Michel," Lorelai responds lightly, taking a sip of her coffee. Sookie smiles and continues whisking a batch of egg yolks.

"The tall boy who tramps around after your daughter like a poodle is here."

"Dean is here?" Lorelai asks, exchanging a quizzical look with Sookie. Sookie shrugs and Lorelai puts down her coffee, walking past Michel to the lobby.

Dean is sitting awkwardly on one of the love seats, looking around as the workers come and go. Lorelai smiles and steps past the desk. He sees her and stands, looking apologetic.

"Hey Lorelai."

"Hey Dean. Not that you're not welcome here, but shouldn't you be in school?" Lorelai asks, gesturing for the two of them to sit.

"Thanks," he says to the seat. "Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you," Dean adds, looking down at his hands.

Lorelai places her hands on her lap and furrows her eyebrows.

"Somethin' the matter, hon?"

Lorelai watches as the young boy mulls something over in his head. He turns to face her more fully, and she sees how sad he looks.

"Please don't tell Rory I came," Dean asks softly.

 _Oh boy_ , she thinks to herself.

"Okay," Lorelai smiles, bracing herself. Dean didn't often seek her advice with things, but when he did, it usually involved her daughter. But he'd never asked her to keep it a secret from Rory. Something was up.

"Um, I don't know how to ask this. I feel so stupid," Dean scoffs, avoiding her eye contact.

"Dean," Lorelai prods sympathetically, touching her hand to his shoulder gently.

"Has Rory…"

"Has Rory…?"

"Mentioned anyone? Lately?" He asks, looking up at her with a strange look.

"Can you be more specific, hon? Rory mentions people every day," Lorelai points out, offering a small smile that Dean doesn't return.

"A boy-anyone?"

"A _boy_ -anyone, huh?"

Lorelai sucks in her breath. It suddenly felt like she was in a vacuum. Wow, what a loaded question.

"Dean, what's this about?"

"I know Rory would never do anything to hurt me," Dean insists, holding his hands up in mock defense. "But lately I just feel like, like I don't know, like I'm losing her."

Lorelai pauses for a beat. She really didn't know what to say to Dean. Rory hadn't mentioned Jess at all, so aside from the random hug she knew about, Lorelai could neither confirm or deny any feelings. Rory _seemed_ to feel strongly that she loved Dean.

"Sometimes I think it feels like we're losing somebody because they have less time to give us," Lorelai offers, touching Dean's shoulder again to get him to look at her. "You know Rory. She's studious and brilliant and so focused on her schoolwork that sometimes she gets tunnel vision."

"I know all of this," Dean nods, "but I guess I just. She doesn't really answer my pages anymore. And she forgets to call. And tonight, she made such a big deal out of not wanting me to go get her."

"From her group?"

"Yeah. I just didn't see the big deal and she gave me a list of reasons why I should buzz off," he says sadly, looking down at his feet.

"Aw, Dean," Lorelai sighs, trying to catch the boy's eye. "It's okay to have separate things, you know? It doesn't mean you're falling away from each other. She probably just doesn't want to get comments from the guys about having a boyfriend."

Dean's head snaps up. "What guys?"

"The guys from her anger management group?" Lorelai's tone is almost a question, uncertain as to what hole she was digging herself into.

"There are guys in that group?" Dean questions, turning to face Lorelai.

A mild sense of guilt and panic set over the older Gilmore. It has become apparent to her that she is both telling Dean something that Rory should have and that Rory seemingly did not want him to know about it.

"Oh, just a couple, but you know how boys are. My kid isn't ugly, after all," Lorelai backpedals, trying to throw out a sincere laugh. Dean gives her a look. "Okay, bad reminder, but hey, don't get worried about that, Dean, okay? It's not a big deal."

Lorelai can see the wheels turning in Dean's head as his eyes look frantically around. Feeling like she just committed a deep betrayal, Lorelai reaches over to Dean's arm, trying to bring him back out of his thoughts.

"How often do you page or call, Dean?" Lorelai asks, raising an eyebrow.

Dean pauses and looks a little embarrassed.

"I don't know. Probably too much. Probably not enough if she isn't telling me there are guys in the group."

"Dean, do you tell Rory every time you ring up a girl at Doose's, or every time you're in a group project with a bunch of girls?"

"No, but—"

"Then _trust Rory_. She probably doesn't mean it the way you're taking it. You're a great guy, and Rory knows that," Lorelai says firmly, leaning back on the couch. Dean sucks in a deep breath and blows it out, nodding.

"Yeah. You're right," he admits, running his hand along the back of his head.

"And Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you should let up a bit?" Lorelai offers. "If you feel like you're losing Rory, which I assure you that you're not, but if you feel like you are, maybe you should give her some space."

"Let up? Like don't call? Don't ask her to hang out?"

"I'm not saying that, but maybe… page her less and let her miss you?" Lorelai shrugs. "Maybe she'll want to tell you all about group and everything if she has the chance to breathe."

Dean looks down. He seems to consider what Lorelai says and smiles sadly.

"Okay. I'll try. And… she really hasn't mentioned anyone?"

Jess flashes into Lorelai's mind for the second time, and she shakes her head in annoyance. Over her dead body.

"No, she really hasn't. In fact we were just talking about you the other day."

Dean smiles and stands up. Lorelai takes her cue to do the same, and clasps her hands behind her back so that the young man before her can't see them fidgeting.

"Thanks Lorelai. And please d—"

"My lips are sealed," Lorelai insists, smiling. Dean returns the smile, gives a small wave, and turns to leave.

"Bye Dean," Lorelai returns, waving. She watches him walk away and sighs, smoothing out her blouse.

 _Aw, kid. You gotta talk to your boyfriend,_ Lorelai thinks to her daughter, sighing before turning to go back to the kitchen.

* * *

Jess leans back in the seat, crossing his arms. Group seemed to be dragging on forever.

He glances over at Rory, who seems completely enthralled by Adam's story. Jess raises an eyebrow, a smile playing at his lips. Only somebody like Rory could find a tale about lava lamps and not throwing them at people climactic.

"And how did you feel when you chose to just sit there, Adam?" Ms. Leon prods, leaning forward. Rory seems to lean forward too, picking up cues from the social worker.

"It felt good, you know? Any other time, I would have picked it up and chucked it at him," Adam says, nodding.

Ms. Leon smiles and Rory smiles, too. Jess wonders if it's genuine or if she's been spending too much time with Ms. Leon. He catches Rory's eye just then and her smile widens before she looks down at her notepad. Jess smirks in return before he sees Ms. Leon staring at him.

"So, Jess," she begins, looking at him expectantly. He bites his tongue to avoid rolling his eyes, and opts to raise both of his eyebrows, indicating his acknowledgment.

"You've been awfully quiet today," Ms. Leon prods.

"Just not feeling awfully chatty," he deadpans, giving her a sincerely bored look. When did he _ever_ talk in group?

"Well it's been awhile since we've seen you. Tell us something that's happened that you feel good about."

Jess steals a quick glance at Rory, who is fidgeting with her pencil. She leans an elbow against her face, almost as though she were hiding from his gaze.

"Nothing to report."

Rory looks a little more rigid.

"Nothing good has happened? Nothing you feel you handled well?"

Why wouldn't she look at him? What could she possibly be afraid he'd say?

"Well, I told a new neighbor she was probably sleeping with my uncle," Jess offers, his eyes on Rory.

"And what about that, to you, is progress?" Ms. Leon asks curiously. Jess looks at her now.

"Nothing. I think I handled that poorly."

"Okay. That's a great sense of self awareness, but why mention it? Did you handle something well as a result of that interaction?"

"I've been nice to her daughter. I think that counts for something," Jess says pointedly, giving Ms. Leon a look.

A small snap happens on the left of Ms. Leon. Nobody seems to notice but Jess, who stares at Rory's broken pencil point.

Ms. Leon doesn't seem to notice or connect the dots that Jess has laid for her... or perhaps she does and doesn't wish to comment. Ms. Leon just smiles and sighs.

"That _is_ a step forward, Jess. Trying to make amends in a way that's natural to you. Congratulations."

Jess steals glances at Rory for the rest of the group, but she never returns his gaze. Rory goes through the motion of nodding to the group stories and taking notes, but Jess knows 'distracted' when he sees it.

* * *

Samuel's session goes by quickly, but that's partially because Rory doesn't listen the whole time. Samuel was less engaging than Jess, though he talked significantly more. That, and she was still mad that Jess had brought her up in group.

Rory walks out of the building and heads straight for the parking lot. Some of the boys with Tuesday night sessions watch her storm off, she can tell, but she isn't in the mood to worry about it.

She finds Jess leaning against her mother's jeep, making a note in a book. Rory pauses for a second, taking in the scene. It looks like something out of a movie; the parking lot light casting an attractive shadow across his body, the leather jacket framing his shoulders, book in hand.

 _Wow_ , Rory breathes to herself. She shakes her head clear, remembering that she's mad at him, and continues to head straight for him.

Once she steps onto the gravel his head perks up and he lowers the book from his eyes. Something changes in his face when he sees her, and Rory notices that his body shifts to a more defensive stance.

"Jess!" She hisses, stomping up to him.

"Who pissed in your Cheerios?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You did! Why did you bring me up in group?" Rory demands, crossing her arms.

Rory watches as Jess tilts his head to the right, looking past her. She turns her head to see the few guys left staring at them. Rory feels a hand in between her shoulder blades pushing her forward.

"C'mon, if you're gonna yell at me, let's do it in the car," Jess tells her lightly, guiding her to the vehicle. Rory shrugs off his hand and huffs, walking over and jamming the key into the driver's side.

She reaches over to unlock the passenger side and Jess opens the door, sliding into the seat next to her.

There's a shared silence between them.

Rory'd never had another guy in the car with her. She'd never even driven with Dean except for the time he built her the car. Something felt right about having Jess sitting next to her, waiting for her to tell him what was going on.

The guilt settles in and motivates Rory to put her key in the ignition. She can feel Jess looking at her curiously, but she ignores it and peels out of the parking lot. The last thing Rory needed was to give the group something to gossip about. They'd already seen her and Jess speaking, but they did every week. What they didn't see was the two sharing a car ride.

Rory turns down the road toward where Jess used to get his bus. She makes a left and, once out of the sight of the Intrepid Center, makes an immediate right away from the bus stop.

A dozen thoughts are running through her head, and the thoughts are surpassed only by the amount of emotions she's feeling. She was excited to be with Jess… but she felt guilty at having told Dean he couldn't get her, essentially choosing another boy over her boyfriend. She was mad that Jess had mentioned her… but she was also happy that he acknowledged her in a positive way.

Rory pulls into the first parking lot of a food establishment that she can find and parks. She places her arms against the steering wheel and rests her head against them.

"So, we're still eating?" Jess asks lightly, throwing a thumb towards the diner Rory had absently pulled into.

"Jess, don't make a joke," Rory grumbles, side eyeing him. She had too much going on in her head.

"Okay, you make one."

"Jess!"

"What, Rory?" Jess counters, turning to face her in the seat. They exchange a heated glare.

"You come out all bent out of shape like I'm supposed to read your mind or something," he continues, waving his hand around in annoyance. "And then you just peel out've there like a bat out've hell without saying a word. So _sorry_ for trying to lighten whatever mood I apparently am being blamed for."

"You brought me up in group," Rory growls, crossing her arms. He couldn't be so dense as to why she was upset. The whole conversation with Ms. Leon had felt too pointed for it to be a coincidence.

"Okay."

"Okay! And don't you think it would have made me uncomfortable?"

"Don't remember using your name or your mom's name when I said something."

".. You didn't, but—"

"And correct me if I'm wrong, but the other night when you called me, you said that Ms. Leon knew we lived in the same town."

Rory feels herself getting frustrated. "Yes, I did."

"So I don't see the problem," Jess says nonchalantly. "Even if she figures it was you, nobody else would."

"The problem is you knew it would bother me," Rory fumes.

"Did I? I didn't realize I was _clairvoyant_ ," he scoffs back, leaning against the door.

"Jess, don't act like you know nothing about me! You know me freakishly well," Rory explodes.

She looks at Jess in surprise at her own admission. Jess looks surprised as well, but Rory sees other things under the surface. Happiness. Curiosity. Annoyance. Smugness. And something else she can't read.

Jess sighs and runs his hand through his hair. His mouth twitches with words he won't say. Even in her explosion, Rory wants to hear them.

"I'm sorry you're upset," Jess says softly to the windshield.

Rory doesn't really consider that an apology, but she knows she won't get much else. She nods.

"Thank you."

"Why are you _really_ upset?" Jess asks then, turning to glance at her. She feels caught by his gaze.

"What do you mean?" Rory asks, confused.

"I mean, you said I know you freakishly well, right?"

Rory doesn't respond, so he continues.

"So then I know that you're not really upset at being brought up. I think you're bothered that I said I'm nice to you."

"T-That's not…" Rory trails off, biting her lip. Was there truth to that?

"It's not what? True? It means you have to deal with the fact that you have a boyfriend and another guy is thinking and talking about you, and you don't wanna be that girl," Jess finishes by pursing his lips.

Rory looks at her lap, soaking it in. He might have a point. If anyone else had brought up being nice to her, she wouldn't have bat an eyelash. But once Jess had spoken the words, guilt had began to gnaw at her stomach yet again. Rory realizes that he's forcing her to admit something that she isn't ready to deal with. She looks at Jess, who locks eyes with her.

She realizes that he was admitting something, too, in his own way. If Jess was intentionally bringing her up, it _was_ to get a reaction out of her, to test her. She would be mad at that if it didn't make her feel borderline giddy that he'd essentially admitted to her being important to him, that he thought about her. Her being "that girl" indicated a level of feelings between the two of them that he was asking her to acknowledge like he was.

Rory's pager goes off, and she breaks the staring contest with her knees. She feels another wave of guilt at the sight of Dean's name.

"Let's go," Jess says finally.

Rory looks up at him. He looks mildly disappointed, and she feels bad once she realizes she'd never actually responded to what he'd said. She wonders if he knows Dean is the one who paged her.

Rory nods. "You're not hungry?"

A smirk plays on Jess's lips, something that Rory has grown to adore.

"I could eat."

"Okay. We can grab something on the way home. Wait, Jess, your car?" Rory asks suddenly, realizing she had left the parking lot before asking how Jess had gotten to group.

"Took the bus," Jess says simply. "Remember? Carpooling?"

"Duh, right," Rory admits, frowning. It wouldn't have made sense for both of them to drive if they'd had dinner plans.

"Well. Let's get something on the way home," Rory finishes with a small smile, turning the key in the ignition.

* * *

Jess watches as Rory talks animatedly about a book she's reading as they search for somewhere with a drive-thru. He smiles and thinks about their conversation. Her silence had said a lot to him earlier, even if he would have preferred her to admit what he had. She didn't deny feelings for him, and that wasn't nothing.

* * *

"You're crazy," Jess laughs from the passenger side.

"I am not! _Nobody_ could talk about imagery in such a profound way as Golding," Rory defends, laughing herself.

The pair had stopped at a McQuickie Burger on the way home because they couldn't get over the name. Rory had even grabbed napkins to show her mom.

Rory and Jess had been talking about books and writers almost non-stop once they had gotten over the hurdle of the Awkward Conversation. Rory had been loving every minute of it, and the hour they were supposed to spend out together had turned into almost two.

"In such a profoundly _boring_ way, you mean," Jess corrects, as Rory pulls down the road by Luke's. "He spends six pages talking about a bush and shrubbery. If you cut out all the times he goes on a tangent about a leaf, you'd have half of the book left and an actual story to read."

Rory giggles and rolls her eyes, slowing the car to a stop. "I think you're being harsh. It really added character to the story. I felt like I was _on_ the island."

Jess laughs and Rory turns to see him smiling at her. It's such a soft smile that goosebumps find their way up and down her arms.

"This is me," Jess says, breaking the stare.

"Right," Rory nods, biting her lip. She didn't want their night to end.

"You know, you could've gone home," Jess says matter-of-factly, nodding his head back the way they'd come. "I'm a big boy. I could've walked myself back."

Rory sucks in her cheek. She would be lying if she ever suggested she hadn't considered it. She and Jess were friends, but she didn't want to deal with any gossip. The last thing she needed was for Babette to see them talking and go throughout the town. Jess had been there for a week, and she still hadn't told Dean they knew each other.

"I know, but it didn't make sense to make you do that when I can just drop you off," Rory defends, shrugging as nonchalantly as she could. "You're still new here, after all."

Jess raises a single eyebrow at her. Rory fears he's going to call her out again but instead he shrugs, opening the car door.

"Okay," he says simply. He lets the door slam slightly, jarring Rory a little bit. _That was weird. No goodbye_?

Almost as if on cue, Jess walks around to her side of the jeep. Rory's heart beats loudly in her chest as she watches him cross the car. What was he doing? Why was he coming over to her side? Why was—

He taps on the car door, not the window. Rory cocks her head to the side in confusion before realizing he wants her to step outside. She inhales deeply and opens the door, watching as he backs up.

"Jess?" Rory asks uncertainly. His name is a question of intent, not just another word on her tongue. She wants to know what he's thinking.

Rory looks down for a minute to step out of the jeep and flushes when she looks back up. Jess has gotten dangerously close to her, and that familiar static that rises whenever they're near each other threatens to immobilize her.

"What would you do if I kissed you right now?" He asks softly, searching her eyes.

Rory takes one of the deepest breaths ever, but she still feels like she hasn't gotten enough air. This wasn't happening. Just a few days ago, she'd had so much resolve that nothing would ever happen with Jess again. But now, with him so close… her instincts were taking over, and her brain wasn't working so well.

"I-if you kissed me?" She stutters, feeling dizzy. Rory was beginning to panic, she realizes. Because she wasn't backing away and she wasn't telling Jess to go to hell — both things that Rory should be doing as Dean's girlfriend.

Jess reaches out a hand. He gently brushes Rory's hair out of her eyes, tucks it behind her ear, and brings his hand down to cup her face in one smooth motion. Rory looks up at him as his thumb lightly caresses her cheek, searching his deep brown eyes.

Before the static between them explodes, a pair of foot steps breaks the moment. Jess drops his hand instinctively and looks behind him, squinting.

Rory turns as the two of them watch a tall figure step under the shine of the street light. Jess holds back a laugh as reality settles in and slaps him in the face.

"D-Dean?" Rory sputters, a look of panic coming over her face.

* * *

 **AN** : Cliffhanger! :)


	9. Chapter 9

Recap from Chapter 8

 _"What would you do if I kissed you right now?" He asks softly, searching her eyes._

 _Rory takes one of the deepest breaths ever, but she still feels like she hasn't gotten enough air. This wasn't happening. Just a few days ago, she'd had so much resolve that nothing would ever happen with Jess again. But now, with him so close… her instincts were taking over, and her brain wasn't working so well._

 _"I-if you kissed me?" She stutters, feeling dizzy. Rory was beginning to panic, she realizes. Because she wasn't backing away and she wasn't telling Jess to go to hell — both things that Rory should be doing as Dean's girlfriend._

 _Jess reaches out a hand. He gently brushes Rory's hair out of her eyes, tucks it behind her ear, and brings his hand down to cup her face in one smooth motion. Rory looks up at him as his thumb lightly caresses her cheek, searching his deep brown eyes._

 _Before the static between them explodes, a pair of foot steps breaks the moment. Jess drops his hand instinctively and looks behind him, squinting._

 _Rory turns as the two of them watch a tall figure step under the shine of the street light. Jess holds back a laugh as reality settles in and slaps him in the face._

 _"D-Dean?" Rory sputters, a look of panic coming over her face._

/

"What are you doing here?" Rory asks, trying to recoup. Somehow between her panic and her resolve to get a grip, she manages to clear some distance between her and Jess.

She steals a glance at him, finding a hard expression on his face.

"What am _I_ doing here?" Dean asks, raising his voice. His eyes are darker than Rory's ever seen them, and something about that scares her. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Well, I—"

"I've been worried about you, wondering why you're an hour later than you said you'd be, why you hadn't called like you promised," Dean throws his hands up, gesturing now towards Jess. Rory furrows her eyebrows, cocking her head.

"Dean, I didn't promise—"

"And I see you here with _him_! How do you even know him?"

"If you'd stop yelling at me and let me explain," Rory huffs, raising her own voice now.

"Explain what, Rory?" Dean flares, stepping closer to her. "That you lied about what you were doing tonight so you could hang out with another guy?"

"That's not what happened!" Rory yells, stomping her foot.

"Yeah, relax, man" Jess says suddenly, his voice low and steady. Dean looks almost as surprised as Rory that Jess said anything at all.

"Jess, please," Rory groans, giving him a pleading look. His eyes flicker to her but his expression doesn't change. He remains staring at Dean, that hard look etched into the corners of his mouth and eyebrows. Rory frowns. She hadn't seen Jess looking like this since the almost-fight with Phillip.

"Oh, you're on a first name basis, great," Dean scoffs, laughing bitterly.

"I'm sorry, when did we go back to the 50s?" Jess quips, his mouth twisting into a look of disbelief.

"Jess!" Rory protests. Jess was only causing her blood pressure to rise by antagonizing Dean.

"No," Jess shook his head dismissively in Rory's direction, staying focused instead on Dean. "What? Your woman can only know the names of people who you pre-approve?"

"I wouldn't talk to me, if I were you," Dean growls, pointing a finger at Jess.

"Still hurt over the Brady Bunch reference?" Jess asks, pouting. "Would a 'Leave it to Beaver' replacement do it for ya instead?"

"Jess!"

Jess finally breaks his stare off with Dean to look at Rory. Her heart is pounding in her chest, and it almost feels like she can feel her blood beginning to boil with anxiety. His face softens ever so slightly, only enough that she really notices.

"Please, can you go?" She asks, barely above a whisper. Jess purses his lips and sucks them inwards a bit, letting out the smallest of chuckles.

Rory watches as Jess retreats, taking a few lazy steps backwards as Dean breathes deeply behind her. She sees nothing but disappointment in Jess's eyes as he looks at her with an intense stare. Rory flushes under the heat of his gaze, looking down and rubbing her arm.

He turns on his heel then, shaking his head, and disappears into the diner, slamming the door behind him. Rory feels like she's committed a great offense, but shakes it away. She had other things to deal with. She finally looks to Dean, who is biting his lip and staring at Luke's.

"Dean, what is with you?" Rory tries, not pretending to be impressed by his behavior.

"What's with me? Tell me about you, Rory. Why are you with him at 9 o'clock at night?"

"I didn't know you were timing my curfew," Rory says with a scowl, scrunching her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Oh, now you think I'm being possessive, too? That's just great."

"Dean, you're putting words in my mouth!"

"Whatever," Dean snorts, shaking his head. "To think I've been an idiot the last few weeks, wondering why you're acting distant."

"Oh, I'm not acting distant because of Jess," Rory rolls her eyes, finding newfound confidence in her lie. "I don't even know Jess. I thought he was breaking into Luke's, that's why I stopped my car."

"What?" Dean flouts, regarding Rory with wary eyes. He didn't look convinced. Not that Rory blamed him; she was flat out lying to him.

"Ms. Leon kept me late because of something that happened during my session with my new client," Rory continued, getting louder as she spoke. "That's why I'm late, and I didn't call because I just wanted to get home after a stressful night, and I was driving past Luke's and saw him trying to get in the door."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Yes, because I'm telling you that's what happened," Rory insists, crossing her arms indignantly. Dean regards her skeptically, alternating between searching her eyes for the truth and glaring at the diner.

"That doesn't explain how you know his name," Dean points out, propping his hand on his hip as he gestures towards Luke's. "You're just magically all buddy buddy with the guy who was a jerk to me the other day?"

"First of all, that jerk is Luke's nephew," Rory informs Dean, throwing a hand behind her to gesture in Jess's general direction. "I know his name because I asked him when I thought he was breaking in. Second of all, how am I supposed to know he was a jerk to you? You didn't tell me anything about him, just that some guy made you mad."

Deans mouth twitches as he considers Rory's words and his breathing evens out.

"Dean, you're taking this all the wrong way. You're my boyfriend, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Rory stands firmly in place, crossing her arms across her chest. She knew she was in the wrong, for sure. But as guilty as she felt, she wasn't ready to discuss her weird relationship with Jess. Further, Ms. Leon had made confidentiality very clear to Rory. She had no business telling Dean that she knew Jess from group, anyway. Right?

"Well, if you say this is the truth, I have to believe you, I guess," Dean says sullenly, not much gusto to his words.

"Yes, you do," Rory replies in kind, kicking at the concrete underneath her converses.

"And Dean, I haven't been distant," Rory adds, looking up at him with sad eyes.

 _At least, I didn't realize I'd been_ , she thinks to herself as an afterthought.

"You never call," Dean mumbles, looking at his feet. "You barely answer pages. You don't want to hang out anymore. What else am I supposed to think when I see you at night with another guy?"

"Not that I'm cheating on you," Rory grumbles, shooting Dean a hurt look. And it did hurt, too, both because Dean thought the worst of her and because Rory might have done just that if he hadn't walked up.

 _No, you wouldn't have let it happen_ , she assures herself.

"Look, I'm sorry," Dean apologizes, taking Rory's hand in his. "I just miss you, and I saw you with him and, I just, I don't know. I freaked out, okay?"

"Dean, I'm just busy with school. This group work project is really demanding, and it's my senior year," Rory defends, looking down at Dean's hand in her own.

"I know," he agrees, nodding.

"And because it's my senior year, doing well is really important," Rory continues, emphasizing her words.

"I know this too," Dean insists, nodding.

"So I need you to trust me."

"I just don't like that guy," Dean backpedals, nodding a head towards where Jess had been.

"But you don't even know him," Rory counters, suddenly feeling very defensive. Her mom had enough to say about Luke's nephew; she really didn't want to hear more from Dean.

"Neither do you," Dean says pointedly, locking eyes with Rory. She backs off, swinging his hand and smiling at him.

"I know, but from what little I got to talk to him, he didn't seem terrible."

"That's because you're nice to everyone," Dean deadpans, raising an eyebrow at Rory.

"That's not true, I can be fierce," Rory says with a pout, giving Dean a grumpy look. She holds it until he chuckles and pulls her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry," he concedes, resting his head on top of hers.

"I know," she mumbles into his chest, sighing. Rory was just happy that her teasing Dean worked. She didn't want to fight anymore, and definitely not in the center of town. Rory was certain that people would be gossiping about it in the morning. She just hoped Jess wouldn't hear much of it.

"Dean, I have to go, it's late," Rory comments, pulling away.

Dean lets Rory go and gives her a strange look. Typically, she could read him right away, but Rory couldn't decipher this one.

"Yeah, okay," he says quietly, offering her a tiny smile.

"I'll call you tomorrow, maybe we can watch a movie," Rory offers, climbing into the jeep. Dean half smiles and chuckles, leaning into the driver's side to kiss Rory on the lips. She deepens the kiss, doing everything she can to convince Dean in this moment that she cares for him. He backs off, allowing her to close the door, and he waves.

Rory starts the engine and waves back. At that moment, Rory's phone rings. She holds it up through the window so Dean can see that it's her mom, and he waves a second time, walking home. Rory sighs and watches as Dean rounds the corner, disappearing out of sight.

Rory misses the call. Putting the car in reverse, she takes her eyes off of the road for a second to glance over at Luke's. Up in the window, a shadow moves away from view. Rory frowns before turning and heading home.

* * *

Jess moves away from the window, letting the curtains block Rory and the rest of the town square from sight.

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. He felt like a tool. Rory made no efforts to stop what almost happened between them; in fact, she seemed open to it. And now he had to watch her suck face with the giant beanstalk? She had looked up at his window, though; that had to speak for something, right? Maybe not.

Jess sighs deeply through his nose. He didn't get Rory. She seemed more than ready to get close to him when it was just the two of them, but now he saw that it was contingent on her boyfriend being out of the picture. Thoughts about being an infatuation surface; maybe he was just an intrigue for this rebellious side of her that she never got to explore.

"Shit," he mutters to himself, hanging his head back in frustration.

This was why he didn't date. He hung around with the same girl for a few months, had copious amounts of borderline meaningless sex, and kept it moving before things could get too clingy. He didn't want to be this guy, liking a girl that he couldn't really have. Or, if he were honest, he didn't want to be a guy _liking_ a girl. He was content to being "okay" with whoever he brought home.

 _You don't know anything yet, though. You haven't spoken to her yet_ , his subconscious suggests hopefully.

Jess shakes his head. He had seen enough.

 _But she lied to her boyfriend to spend time with you,_ his brain chirps again.

This was true, but Jess was done playing the game. It was up to Rory to make a decision, and until then, he wasn't ready to get smacked around like a pinball.

He wasn't an idiot. He knew she had a boyfriend. Everyone and their dog Fluffy had reminded him repeatedly. The only one who hadn't was Rory, and that's why he was in the emotional mess he was in now.

Rory could have her boyfriend, fine. But she couldn't have both of them. Based on her kissing Dean and what he could make out about her lie from the closed window, she seemed more concerned with keeping him a secret than anything. How flattering.

Jess shrugs, resolving not to bother with the girl as long as he could. He could squash these rising feelings for her, he was sure of that. He just needed something to distract him… or some one.

* * *

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Rory sits on Lane's bed three days later, hugging a pillow to her body. The two had been discussing everything that had occurred since Tuesday night. Rory really didn't want to break confidentiality, but she figured if her mother knew already, Lane finding out about her connection to Jess wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Rory really needed somebody who wouldn't judge her about what had been going on.

Her first thought, which surprised her even, had been to talk to Paris. Rory had brought up a hypothetical situation at school, and Paris had gone all King Solomon on her. In Paris' eyes, if guys could have multiple conquests, so could women. Rory hadn't gotten much clarity on her own issue, but then she supposed she hadn't been too clear for Paris to take it seriously.

The next option was Lane. She was afraid that Lane was so wrapped up in Dean-and-Rory-Land that she wouldn't be objective about a very un-Rory series of behaviors. But Lane was her best friend, and she had proven to be a bipartisan confidante in the past. So when Rory had called Lane, of course she was there for her. Luckily, Lane wasn't the self righteous type. She'd listened to Rory's woes and was now trying to be supportive. Rory loved that about her.

The last few days had been a whirlwind, and Rory didn't know how to respond to it. Rory had made good on her promise to Dean to spend time with him the next day, but she'd been secretly wondering where Jess was, how he was feeling, and why he hadn't messaged or called. Rory thought the evening had gone pretty as planned… that is, until she'd run into Jess at Doose's with Dean.

If they'd been monkeys, the boys probably would have flung poo at each other. Dean had pulled her in protectively, and Jess had glared at him. What was worse was that he had seemed to look right through Rory as if she wasn't there. Rory remembers the afternoon vividly.

" _I can't stand that guy," Dean says, shaking his head. He grimaces at the front door, where Jess was exiting._

" _But he didn't say anything," Rory points out, frowning._

" _He's in a few classes of mine," Dean explains, nodding towards the door. "Makes a lot of snide comments and pointed looks at me. And now he challenges me here when I'm with you, like he owns this whole town. I'm sick of him."_

" _He's probably just adjusting to being new to town," Rory defends, lightly tugging on Dean's jacket. "You guys just got off on the wrong foot."_

" _I'm getting a little tired of you defending him," Dean bites out bitterly, huffing before staring at Rory intensely._

" _I'm not defending him," Rory counters, giving Dean an incredulous look. Was he being serious?_

" _Well, it sure sounds like it," Dean scoffs, crossing his arms._

 _Rory couldn't believe what she was hearing. Where was her kind, sweet, trusting Dean that she had fallen for two years ago? She didn't know too much about this newer, more jealous Dean, but she couldn't say she was a fan. A pang of guilt rings out through her stomach, telling her that her shifty behavior had caused this._

" _Dean, what do you want me to do?" Rory asks, feeling defeated. "What will make you feel better?"_

 _Dean stares at her a moment, his eyes frantically searching her face._

" _I don't want you to talk to him," he says finally, just above a whisper._

 _It takes everything in Rory's power to keep her mouth from gaping open._

" _W-what?" Rory sputters, sure she's heard him wrong._

" _I don't want you to talk to Jess," Dean repeats, grabbing Rory's hand. "He's bad news. I know you think the best of everyone, but I think he's trouble. If you care about me, you'll do this for me. You don't know him anyway, right? So it won't matter."_

" _B-but he's Luke's nephew."_

" _So?"_

" _So, I'm bound to see him at Luke's or in the town, or here, like we just did. What am I supposed to do? Just turn my head and pretend he's the Ghost of Christmas past?"_

" _Say hi like you always do," Dean says with a shrug. "But you don't have to be his pal."_

" _Dean, I—"_

" _Please, Rory."_

 _Rory's heart breaks as Dean's demand shifts into more of a desperate plea. Something tells her that he's more afraid to lose her than she realizes. If she had learned anything from Ms. Leon, it was to find your empathy even when you didn't want to. Rory could choose to see Dean's behavior as erratic and possessive, or she could choose to see it as a hurting guy trying everything in his power not to let anything interfere with his relationship._

 _Rory sighs and swallows hard. How was she going to live this double life? She had a sinking feeling that it was going to bite her in the butt sooner rather than later._

" _Sure, okay," she mumbles, staring at her feet._

Rory sighs, coming back to the conversation.

"I don't know," she admits, shaking her head.

Group yesterday had been really hard. She had been nervous all day, not knowing whether she should find out if Jess wanted to carpool. But having agreed not to speak to the guy made things significantly more difficult, so Rory had settled on traipsing into Luke's to find out where he was. Luke had looked startled, sputtered something about him going to a job right after school, and Rory had simply nodded and got a coffee to go. "Going to a job" was definitely code for anger management group.

When Rory got to group, she had anxiously waited for Jess to come in. Once he did, he didn't acknowledge her and had torn out of the room to his private session. So Rory had gone home, called Lane, and asked to meet up with her today to go over things.

"And Jess said nothing to you?"

"No," Rory pouts, sighing. "He just acted as if I wasn't there. And I don't get it because I wasn't mean to him Tuesday, I just asked him to go inside so things wouldn't get worse with Dean."

"Do you think he saw you guys kissing?" Lane asks, scrunching her face in thought.

Rory bites her lip, considering this.

"He might've. I thought I saw somebody at the window, but… Jess knows I date Dean? So he must know we kiss."

"Yeah but I imagine it doesn't pad the ego to know you guys almost kissed and then you start sucking face with another guy immediately after," Lane points out, shrugging her shoulders.

Rory deflates at the reminder of her almost-infidelity. It also brings her clarity on how horrible she's being to both guys.

"Lane, I'm a terrible person!" Rory cries.

"You're not a terrible person," Lane assures her, offering a sympathetic look.

"Oh really?" Rory counters, sucking in a breath. "I've been messaging and hanging out with a guy who isn't my guy, who clearly has feelings for me if he wanted to kiss me, right? Because why else would he want to kiss me unless he's just looking for a hookup, which would suck because I'm dating somebody, and that would mean that he just wants to be a homewrecker for kicks and giggles—"

"I definitely think he has feelings for you," Lane interjects.

"Well, then, it makes it worse, doesn't it? Because I've clearly spent too much time with him to allow that to happen, so I've lead him on thinking he has a chance when he doesn't because I'm dating Dean, and oh God, Dean! I've been dragging Dean's heart through all of Stars Hollow by having these boyfriend-girlfriend-like encounters with Jess, and Dean has been trying so hard to hang out with me, and—"

"Rory!" Lane yells, throwing a hand over Rory's mouth. Rory sighs and swallows.

"If I move my hand, you have to promise you won't keep rambling and that you'll let me talk," Lane says sternly, raising an eyebrow at her best friend.

Rory nods her head in agreement to the conditions. Getting so worked up wasn't helping her anyway.

"I'm going to offer you relationship advice. Not that I have anything to offer you because me and Dave are barely a thing, we're a thinglet if we want to get technical, but here goes my wisdom," Lane pauses to look at Rory in the eyes.

"I think you have a few options. You can stay with Dean and never speak to Jess again."

"But Lane, we have group—"

"Ah ah! No interruptions!" Lane scolds, pointing an accusatory finger. "Now, that's option one. Option two is you tell Dean that he needs to trust you and can't tell you who to talk to. I particularly like this option cause, you know, fight the patriarchy."

"Option three is you tell Jess how you feel about him and have a conversation about whether you can stay friends. Option four is you break up with Dean and pursue Jess."

"I don't really like any of my options," Rory admits, biting her lip. In at least three scenarios, she risked losing Dean. Dean, her rock, her sweet protector for the last two years. But now was the time to be honest with herself, and she didn't know if she could stomach walking around Jess and never speaking to him again. That felt just as painful.

"Tough cookies, kid," Lane says with a firm nod.

"Lane, I think I'm starting to really like Jess."

"Rory, I think you already do."

"But I love Dean," Rory says, perhaps to convince the two of them. She thinks back to her conversation with her mother, where Lorelai suggested that Rory could care for two different people.

"But are you _in_ love with Dean?" Lane asks, ducking her head to catch Rory's eyes. "Because if you're not, I kinda think your decision is made."

Rory nods her head in thought. She needed more time to process this on her own.

"Thanks, Lane," Rory says with the brightest smile she's been able to muster all week. They hug from across Lane's bed and fall into a comfortable silence.

"So tell me about your thing with Dave!"

"It's a thinglet."

"Call it whatever you want, you've got a man in your life," Rory snickers with a mischievous smile.

"I do, don't I?" Lane shrieks excitedly, leaning in to tell Rory all of the details.

* * *

"Coffee?"

Lorelai raises an eyebrow and scoffs.

"Do you even have to ask?"

"You stressed or somethin'?" Luke asks, placing his hands on the counter.

Lorelai pouts until Luke rolls his eyes and begrudgingly fills up a cup for his friend.

"Gee, is it that obvious?" Lorelai groans, taking a long swig.

"Well, it's your third time in here in one day," Luke points out.

"What, you're keeping count? I feel so judged. Do you want to know how many times I blinked today, too?"

"You gonna tell me or what? Cause if not, I have less annoying customers I can tend to," Luke says pointedly, giving Lorelai a less than impressed look.

"It's Rory," Lorelai gushes after a pause.

"What's wrong with Rory?" Luke asks, furrowing his brows.

"She's been moping lately and every time I ask about it, she brushes me off," Lorelai explains sadly, sipping her coffee. "It's like I'm a leper or something."

"Maybe she just doesn't wanna talk about it yet."

"But we always talk! There's never been a time where we haven't talked. I thought I got to skip out on this moody, brooding teenager phase once we successfully passed sixteen."

"Well, you were seventeen once. You didn't talk to your mom."

"I had Emily, it's totally different. Comparing eggs and tomatoes, my friend," Lorelai says dismissively, shaking her head.

"Just give her space," Luke insists, ignoring her weird comparison. "She'll come around."

"Yeah. I guess," Lorelai smiles sadly, shrugging her shoulders. It did make her feel better to confide in somebody. Luke was great for that. He was probably right, too.

"If it makes you feel better, Jess has been acting weird too," Luke admits, wiping the counter off. He moved an empty cup off the top, hanging back into the doorway of the kitchen to pass it to Cesar.

"So what else is new?" Lorelai grumbles, wiggling her eyebrows to offset her tone. Luke doesn't look amused so she stops.

"In what way?" She asks, giving in.

"Stomping around the place more than usual. You know, I think even Rocky would have taken a seat to let Moody McGee walk past him," Luke confides, shaking his head. "I'm lucky I still have my head—damn near bites it off with every word I utter."

"Hormones?" Lorelai jokes.

"Not funny," Luke deadpans, glaring at his friend.

"Well Luke he's still new here, maybe he's adjusting," Lorelai replies thoughtfully. She still wasn't a fan of Jess. She'd had maybe one or two more interactions with him since the incident at her house. But Luke was there for her, so she would try her best to be there for him… even if she did have fantasies of hitting his nephew with her jeep.

"Yeah but all the time?" Luke wonders, throwing his hands up.

"It's not something that comes and goes like a rash," Lorelai snickers, smiling at the diner owner. "He'll snap out of it."

Luke sighs heavily and looks at the counter, scrubbing away a stain that apparently only he can see.

"Welp, I'm out," Lorelai informs Luke, finishing her coffee and grabbing her crossbody. "Thanks Luke."

The two exchange a warm smile. Lorelai could always count on him, she knew that. If she was honest, she couldn't get by without their conversations and his grounding of her life. _If_ she were honest.

A thought pops into Lorelai's head as she's almost out of the door. She pauses for a second and turns to face Luke.

"Hey, how many days has you-know-who been acting this way?" She asks, biting her lip.

Luke grimaces and shrugs. "Maybe two, three days?"

"Huh," Lorelai breathes, smiling back at Luke. She waves and heads out the door, ignoring Luke when he calls her name.

Rory had been a brooding mess the last three days. To hear that Jess had also been, Lorelai could only draw one mom conclusion: the two had fought in some way. Lorelai would try again tonight to talk to her daughter.

* * *

"Hey kid!" Lorelai chirps enthusiastically. Rory walks into the kitchen, feeling a lot better after her talk with Lane.

She still didn't know what she was going to do, but at least the same options she saw for herself were seen by someone else. Rory bites her lip and takes a seat across from her mom. Lorelai looks expectant.

"Something up?" Rory asks, looking at her mother inquisitively.

"We haven't talked in a while," Lorelai replies simply, smiling at her daughter.

Rory holds back an eyeroll. Her mom had been pressuring her to talk the last few days.

"We talk every day," Rory reminds her, getting up to get herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah but not about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Rory asks, looking over her shoulder. Lorelai gets up to assist in the coffee making.

"You know… stuff," Lorelai falters.

"Mom."

"I just thought if you wanted to talk about… stuff, we could talk about it, because we haven't talked about stuff in a while," Lorelai rambles, earning herself a look from Rory.

Rory leans against the counter and crosses her arms lightly over her chest.

"What's on your mind, Eric B?" Rory presses, raising an eyebrow.

"Well now I'm thinking how embarrassing it is that my daughter knows about Information Society."

"You won't get around this by criticizing my music choices."

"Okay. Fine. It's just. I talked to Luke today."

"And?"

"He told me Jess has been in a weird funk, too."

Rory deflates and sinks against the counter. She wasn't really expecting that.

"Oh."

"Yeah. And I kinda noticed you've been…"

Rory shoots her a death glare.

"Well basically Mary Poppins won't be inviting you on any adventures any time soon. So I thought maybe one had something to do with the other," Lorelai tries, placing her hands gently on her hips.

Rory considers this. She had two choices. Lie or seek wiser counsel and hope her mother didn't judge. The former seemed appealing, but Rory figures the latter would most behoove her.

Rory sighs and plops herself back at the table. Lorelai walks back over cautiously, taking a seat and watching.

"I don't know what his issue is," Rory admits, staring into her coffee cup. Lorelai doesn't say anything; she simply waits for Rory to continue.

"I didn't want to think about it before. But I talked to Paris, and Lane—"

"You talked to _Paris_ about this?"

"Do you want to hear what's going on or not?"

"Fine. Sorry."

" _Anyway_. They both gave me conflicting advice, and I guess I'd like your thoughts too."

"Shoot."

Rory takes a deep breath. There was no going back now. If she admitted she liked Jess to her mom, it was basically being spoken into the relentless universe. There wouldn't be any taking it back.

"I think I like Jess."

"Uh-huh."

"And I think he likes me."

"Uh-huh."

"And there's Dean."

"Uh-huh."

"Will you stop saying uh-uh? It's not very supportive," Rory pouts, giving Lorelai an exasperated look.

"Okay fine. So you have feelings for two guys and you think they have feelings for you."

"... Right. Or I did until Tuesday."

"What happened Tuesday?"

"I… I know I told you I was staying at group late, which I did, but mostly it was to hang out with Jess."

Lorelai does her best to stifle a concerned face. She fails, but Rory appreciates it all the same.

"And when we came back… I don't know, I thought he was going to kiss me. And then Dean came and started a fight because he saw me with Jess, and… I told Jess to leave. And Dean told me he doesn't want me to talk to Jess... and now Jess won't speak to me."

"Does Jess know Dean doesn't want you to talk to him?"

"No, he just… started ignoring me. Even before Dean asked me to do that. Mom, it made group _so_ uncomfortable. He wouldn't even look at me. I thought he liked me."

"Can I speak?"

"Yes, go ahead," Rory says with a nod, bracing herself.

"Are you hearing yourself? You're upset at Jess for not talking to you. But don't you think maybe he's kinda peeved that you hung out and then told him to leave you and your boyfriend alone?"

"But…"

" _And_ you're more concerned about him not talking to you than lying to Dean about what you're doing."

"I haven't done anything!"

"Not yet, but it sounds like you got pretty close."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"No, Rory! I rarely play the mom card, but you asked for my advice. You have to make a decision. If you want Jess, go for him. You're about due for an angsty James Dean-like character in your life. If you want Dean, stick with Dean. But you can't have both. If Dean doesn't want you to talk to Jess anymore, and he seems like he has a reason not to, you have to respect that. But you can't drag their hearts around this town and then brood over why they're acting weird."

Rory slumps in her seat, lost in thoughts. She knew Lorelai was right, just like she knew Lane was right. Lane was just a little more diplomatic about it.

"But I don't know what I want. What if I throw things away with Dean and then Jess says he doesn't like me?" Rory asks sadly.

"Then you don't have a boyfriend for a little while to get over that," Lorelai informs her, reaching across the table to grab Rory's hand. "But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Figuratively speaking, obviously, because Gilmores don't believe in such things."

"I love Dean, mom. I really do," Rory whimpers, ignoring her mom's witticism. "But I barely think about him anymore."

Lorelai sighs.

"Then you have your decision, babe. Why don't you talk to Jess? At least then you can be on the same page with how you feel and gauge how to take things from there. But babe, do it soon. Dean doesn't deserve this. And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad, but it's the right thing to do."

Rory nods and before she realizes it, tears start trickling down her cheek.

"Aw hon," Lorelai says sadly, getting up to wrap her daughter in a hug.

* * *

A few more days pass before Rory can't stand it any longer.

She'd done everything she could to focus on Dean to confirm her feelings. Rory had gone on walks, watched movies, attempted to have deep conversations. She was happy when she was with him, but Jess always lingered on her mind. And with the holiday quickly approaching, she knew her mom was right; if she was going to break up with Dean, it needed to happen before Thanksgiving.

Rory couldn't remember how she had fought back these images of him (and potential feelings) over the last few months that she'd known Jess, but it seemed obvious to her now that it wasn't going away. Every moment with Jess had been unpredictable and exciting, and even just the thought of hugging him brought butterflies to her stomach. She didn't get that with Dean.

On Tuesday morning before class, Rory made the decision. She couldn't wait any longer; she needed to talk to Jess and see how he felt. She had been able to avoid him all weekend, but now that it was a group day, Rory was too anxious to let it go.

With all the confidence she can muster, Rory walks over to Luke's. She checks her watch about a dozen times and fidgets with the sleeve of her shirt.

 _All you have to do is talk to him_ , she coaches herself.

 _You aren't declaring your undying love for him. You just need to find out how he feels._

Right. She could totally do this.

The closer Rory gets, the less nervous she feels. Jess had made it very clear that he had feelings

for her by his actions; she had nothing to lose. The worst he could do was say he changed his mind… which would suck.

But the optimist in Rory convinces her that he will be receptive to her conversation, and they can figure out what to do from there. With the diner in sight, Rory begins to feel excited. Her feelings and confusion had been eating her alive for weeks. Now that she could finally tell Jess how she felt, the feeling of elation could be unmatched.

That is, until he told her that he felt the same.

Rory walks up to Luke's and opens the door. The bell chimes and Luke turns his head, smiling at her.

"Hey Rory."

"Hey Luke. Is Jess—"

Rory's words catch in her throat as she finds the person she's looking for. At the sound of her voice saying his name, Jess detaches his face from the blonde leaning over the counter to stare at Rory. Some curious expression flickers across his countenance, but as Rory's vision blurs from tears that spring up under her eyelashes, she doesn't stick around to decipher it.

Feeling like the world just smacked her with a two by four, Rory turns quickly on her heel and bolts out of the diner, not stopping until her feet carry her home.

* * *

 **AN** : Thanks for reading :) For the record, I wanted to punch Rory and Dean basically the entire chapter. Things are gonna speed along a little bit in the story now. We need to get to snow weather.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: One line from "Haunted Leg" is used in this, so credit to ASP for that brief one.

 **A/N** : Sorry for such a delay. I have rewritten, edited, and destroyed this chapter so many times that it's time to just post one and let it rock. I'm going to be reverting more to my natural writing style, incorporating more feelings and internal dialogue. Hope you like it :) Please review. The lack of response the past two chapters also admittedly contributed to a delay. Thank you sincerely to those who did take the time :) xoxo

xx

Rory's hands shake as she pulls into the Intrepid Center. After what happened that morning, the last thing she wanted to do was be within sixty miles of Jess, let alone stuck in a room with him.

Rory sighs and leans her head against the headrest, closing her eyes. She peeks one eye open to check her watch, noting that she has about fifteen minutes before she's expected to go into the building. This gave her enough time to figure out how to handle herself when she eventually saw Jess walk into group.

Rory opens her eyes and stares absently at her hands on the steering wheel. They're still shaking, so she tries to summon whatever willpower she owns to make them stop, but they simply continue on in disobedience. She turns the ignition off and bites her lip, debating whether the radio would help or interfere with her game plan.

She pauses for a beat and moves to turn the dial. Rory settles on a station and leans back.

( _Can't erase this, can't delete this...)_

Rory looks at the radio skeptically.

 _(I don't need this, I can't handle it…_ )

"How appropriate," she mutters bitterly.

( _I just feel it, that you're over us…_ )

Rory's stomach clenches and she quickly hits the button to change the station. That was just a fluke.

( _I don't know why you're not talking to me; I don't know what went wrong_.)

She groans and repeats her previous gesture. Third time's a charm? Something that didn't remind her of Jess.

( _See you driving 'round town_

 _With the girl I love and I'm like—_ )

Rory slams the radio button, turning the contraption off. She didn't need to be reminded of Shane, either. The universe was clearly out to mock her today.

She didn't want to be here. All day at school she felt like a shadow of herself. It wasn't like before, when her thoughts of Jess were of how warm his body was, how valuable his insight into a book was, how special he was becoming to her. All Rory could picture in their place, as she had searched interactions and past conversations for signs that Lane had been right about Jess having feelings for her, was… _her_ , attached to his lips.

She hadn't seen the girl's face, but the back of her blonde head, low cut jean capris, and revealing crop top had been enough for Rory to brand judgment on her. All Rory could see in her mind's eye was this person, latched onto Jess, and the look of… something in Jess's eyes when she saw them. Was it surprise? Regret? Indifference? Whatever it was, all of her memories of him were tainted by that image.

Who was that girl? And, more importantly, who was she to Jess?

 _Obviously she's his girlfriend_ , Rory thinks to herself. _Except maybe not._ She furrows her eyebrows. _He could just be with her to… do things._ Rory ponders this for a second, annoyed with herself for petulantly referring to sexual intimacy as 'things.' _That makes it worse, doesn't it? If he's only with her for that. Because then it means he's shallower than I think he is and that pursuing him would be a gigantic mistake because I'm not ready for those things with him yet_. She feels heat rising to her face at her thought. _With Jess? Yet?! I haven't even kissed him yet._ Another blush, this one accompanied by rubbing her eyes roughly. _This 'yet' word and I need to divorce._

She shifts uncomfortably in her chair. It becomes painstakingly aware to her how unfair she's being to both Jess, for thinking he was just a womanizer when she had no previous evidence to support that, and to… whoever she is, for assuming that she's just an available booty call. Before she can really change her position on the matter, images of the blonde kissing Jess resurface, and Rory feels her stomach clench in anger.

 _She's probably an idiot_ , Rory's mind supplies viciously. _And he's just a jerk, parading her around in Luke's for the world to see._ Rory's jaw clenches as a haunting reality reaches her: she was jealous. _And_ , Rory thinks bitterly to herself, _I have no reason to be because Jess and I are nothing_.

Rory bangs her head a few times against the headrest. It wouldn't do her any good to think about that right now. She had to face seeing Jess, and that would ultimately take herculean effort on her end to do so without trying to claw his eyes out. Rory glances at her watch and panics, noting that she's managed to let ten minutes fly by. She grabs the keys roughly out of the ignition and grabs her backpack, slinging it over one shoulder to slide out of the jeep.

Rory walks quickly across the parking lot, eyeing the bus stop with suspicion. She sees a bus pulling around the corner and her eyes widen. She picks up her pace, determined to keep her eyes straight on the door, when a green truck enters into her peripheral. Rory squints, turning her head to stare at it. It looked really familiar. It looked like Luke's—

"Ow!"

"Jesus!"

Rory stumbles backwards from the impact. She briefly sees stars before shaking her head, realizing that two hands that don't belong to her are holding her steady. Her heart drops into her stomach as she realizes that she'd run into the very manifestation of her panic.

"Jess?"

"Hey," he supplies cautiously, dropping his hands to rub his shoulder.

Rory tightens the grip on her bookbag strap, cursing inside of her head. Her skin bristles underneath of her sweater, the warmth of his touch lingering.

"Sorry," she mumbles, remembering her manners. "I didn't see you."

"I gathered," Jess says simply, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

Rory notices Jess's eyes flicker to her side, and she follows his gaze to her hand. Her knuckles were growing white from gripping her book bag. Rory shifts the weight in her hip, forcing the book bag further onto her shoulder.

"You took Luke's truck?" She blurts out, dropping her hand from her bag. Jess looks back to her and raises an eyebrow.

"Your transitions could use some work," Jess chuckles, shifting back to regard her. Rory narrows her eyes at the insult, and his soften in return.

"Didn't want to take the bus anymore," he says casually, looking directly at her. His comment feels pointed but she brushes it off.

"Oh.. makes sense," she mumbles, looking at her feet. She felt like an idiot; of course that was why he had Luke's truck. She just hadn't been prepared for that.

The awkward tension starts to fill in the space around them. Rory shifts uncomfortably, noticing that Jess does the same, and takes a step back from him.

"It's time for group," she says quickly, averting her eyes from his gaze. If he goes to say something, she doesn't know; she's already moving past him, rushing for the door.

"So is this how it's gonna be?" Jess asks, jogging up to her just as Rory reaches the front doors.

"How _what's_ going to be, Jess?" Rory asks with a tinge of annoyance.

"This," he repeats, gesturing between the two of them with a finger. "You're gonna run away every time you see me now?"

At the brief reference to that morning, Rory's anxiety turns quickly into irritation. She sees Shane leaning in, her hand on his forearm, her lips on his.

"You started this," she counters sharply, moving past him to walk inside. "You ignored me."

Jess shoots his arm out to block her from entering.

"You almost hit me in the face!" Rory complains, her eyes blazing.

"Sorry. Let's get something straight though," Jess locks eyes with her, and she sees anger in them. "I didn't start this, _you_ did."

"You stopped talking to me out of nowhere!" Rory says, feeling her voice quiver. _Not ready for this, not ready for this_.

"Really? Out of nowhere?" Jess challenges, his voice rising. He looks at Rory, who's looking at the woman behind the desk, and he turns back with a scowl.

"You wanted to play with fire, and I'm not interested in getting burned along with you," he continues, pointing an aggravated finger first at himself and then at Rory for emphasis.

Rory's stomach ties into a knot. She hadn't tried to lead him on. In fact, she hadn't even gotten a grasp on the chaos of her emotions until the night before! Rory ponders briefly whether now is a good time to tell him how she'd been feeling.

"Maybe Dean will jump at any bone you throw him, but don't expect me to genuflect," Jess tosses bitterly, finally turning on his heel to walk down the hall.

 _He's not being fair_ , she thinks dejectedly. Rory swallows the lump in her throat and takes off after Jess. Every step closer to his retreating back makes her more and more frustrated until she huffs audibly. Rory shoves past Jess, cutting him off around the corner, and stomps over to the door.

 _I can't believe him. He hasn't talked to me in over a week, yet this is all of my fault? I avoided him because he ignored me every chance he got! I was just giving him space. Well, a lot of good telling yourself this is, Rory._

Rory reaches for the door and hesitates. She turns around in time for Jess to nearly bump into her again. Sparks light up and her chest tightens as he jumps back, careful to keep distance in between them.

She opens her mouth to say something, but the fierce look in Jess's eyes renders her speechless. She had hurt him, and it was written all over his face. No matter how infuriated his comments had made her, the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Jess. This last week, it had been impossible for her to focus. All she wanted to do was reach out and touch him, hold him, kiss him...

Rory sighs. He was mad. She was mad. And more than that, she was unprepared. Better not to stoke the fire until she could collect herself and process the conversation. She turns away, opening the door to group.

* * *

Jess taps his foot impatiently. He couldn't follow any of the conversations happening in group. He would be lying if he didn't get a kick out of hearing the guys go around in their little sharing circle. Jess wasn't a sharer himself, still finding this thing to be ridiculous, but he tended to err on the side of curiosity when it came to people.

But right now nothing was holding his attention. It was a half hour after his confrontation with Rory, and the heated exchange was like a broken record playing in his head. In spite of himself, Jess kept stealing quick glances in her direction, wondering about the words she'd choked on before opening the door. She'd looked so small and helpless.

He sighs deeply through his nose, annoyed with himself. It didn't matter how she looked. It didn't matter how she felt. He had Shane now; he didn't need to concern himself with Rory.

 _Yeah, like there's even a comparison,_ Jess's subconscious fires at him. He begrudgingly admits to himself that he doesn't really care about Shane at all. He runs a hand through his hair. Maybe he would grow to if he could convince her to read something other than Teen Vogue...

"Mr. Mariano?" Ms. Leon interrupts his train of thought and he jerks slightly, looking over to her.

"Can you share something positive that happened this past week?"

 _I haven't had to be here since Thursday; that's always a plus._

"Can't think of a thing," Jess answers simply, his eyes involuntarily moving to look at Rory. She's skillfully avoiding his gaze, drawing scribbles in her notebook.

"There has to be something positive," Ms. Leon encourages. "You said you moved. How's that going?"

Rory visibly tenses next to her, her scribbles pausing.

"Swell," he drawls sarcastically.

"Meet any new friends?"

 _What is this? Third grade?_

"There isn't one person worth talking to," he says harshly. Jess's eyebrows knit together; he hadn't exactly meant for that to come out the way it did. Rory's head snaps up and she glares at him. His stomach turns.

"Have you ever thought maybe you're the problem?" she suggests icily, putting her pen down.

The group grows eerily silent and Ms. Leon's eyes widen.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you say there's nobody worth talking to in your new town, right?" Rory asks, pausing for a beat. He narrows his eyes. "Maybe you're not putting in enough effort or giving the town a chance."

"And you're the expert in putting in effort for people, huh?" He delivers tersely. Understanding flickers across Rory's eyes, and Jess immediately knows she caught the implication.

Ms. Leon opens her mouth to speak, but Rory cuts her off.

"No. But judging from how you refrain from contributing to this group on a weekly basis, I'm wondering if maybe you could benefit from shifting your perspective," she responds evenly.

Jess feels mildly impressed that Rory had it in her to openly go after him in group. He almost wants to give her credit for wording herself to appear as though she's merely being helpful. Almost.

"Okay guys, let's t—" Ms. Leon interrupts, trying to redirect the group away from the back and forth.

"Perhaps you'd benefit from scrutinizing somebody else's behavior instead of keeping score of how many times I do and don't speak," Jess interjects, raising an eyebrow. "It's a little much."

"I'm just trying to be helpful," Rory delivers with a smile.

"I'm not interested in your individual attention, but thanks."

"Jess!" Ms. Leon says sternly.

"I don't give you individual attention!"

"Rory!" Ms. Leon reaches out a hand and places it on Rory's arm, grabbing her attention.

"You're doing so right now," Jess points out.

 _Rory, stop. I don't want to do this_. His heart is beating in his ears. He feels himself growing more aggravated at being called out, and he knows that if she doesn't stop, he'll say something he might regret.

"You think awfully highly of yourself," she spits out. His jaw clenches.

"I mean, I'm guess I'm flattered, Ms. Gilmore, really," Jess continues, holding a hand to his chest. "But I just don't like you like that."

Jess watches hurt settle in Rory's eyes. His chest tightens. He didn't want to lie to her. _I didn't want to say that to you_.

"Alright, that's enough," Ms. Leon insists, moving her arms in a wide 'X' gesture to indicate the argument was over. "I'd like both of you to please step outside a moment."

Jess rolls his eyes and pushes himself off of the chair with one hand. As he crosses the room, Rory stands up in front of him and he follows her out. Ms. Leon says something to the group excusing them, but Jess isn't listening. He's focusing on the tension he feels emanating from Rory, watching her shoulders rise and fall with every quick, heated breath.

Ms. Leon trails behind them and closes the door behind her, a frown gracing her typically happy countenance.

"What is going on today?" She asks, looking between Jess and Rory in disbelief. "I hardly expect this kind of back and forth in a _therapeutic_ context!"

Jess looks at her blankly. He didn't do well with reprimands. Rory, on the other hand, looks nervous and upset.

"I know," she breathes, staring at her feet. She hugs herself protectively. "I don't know what happened."

"I thought I was clear when we spoke, Rory," Ms. Leon says sternly, raising her eyebrows at the brunette. Jess raises his eyebrows and glances at Rory; clearly she understands the cryptic message that Ms. Leon gives her because Rory's face pales. Jess feels sudden compassion for her, registering a mild panic in her expression.

"You were," she says quietly.

"I'm going to give you guys five minutes to work out whatever it is you need to work out," Ms. Leon says decisively, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "And I expect you both to come back in composed."

Jess rolls his eyes but steals a concerned glance at Rory. She seems to be infatuated with a chip in the tile next to her foot. Jess shrugs, realizing he has to be the vocal one.

"Sure thing, Misses," Jess drawls, tipping an invisible hat and bowing his head in a grand gesture. Ms. Leon looks unimpressed but turns on her heel.

"And I expect both of you to stay after today to discuss how to proceed," she adds before entering back into the room.

The two teenagers release a collective sigh. Jess decides that if he's going to hash things out with Rory, it won't be in front of the door for all of the dinks inside to hear. He lazily turns on his heel and begins to stroll down the hallway. He listens as he walks; it isn't long before he hears soft footsteps behind him.

 _Where's the best place to have a fight around here?_ He wonders absently. He takes a sharp left and heads back out to the parking lot. Jess hears the door open and close behind him, and he smirks to himself. It felt nice to know that in spite of her anger, Rory would follow him where he went. He digs into his pocket for his cigarettes and takes a step back so that he can gauge her face while he lights one.

* * *

Rory stares at the smoke as it runs from Jess's cigarette, creeping higher and higher into the sky. The weight of what Ms. Leon had implied falls heavily on her, making it difficult to really want to move. She'd promised to keep things out of group, no matter what happened with Jess. And she had initiated the exact opposite of that just now. She couldn't even blame Jess for saying what he said, even if it did hurt.

 _It really hurt_ , she thinks to herself, sighing. She feels his eyes on her but she's not ready to look into them. She fears that if she does, he'll be able to read the sadness and bitterness and anxiety. Rory drops her eyes to the floor before finally allowing them to meet his, realizing that they are on a time crunch.

"You okay?" Jess asks in a tone so gentle that it sends a shiver down her spine. She remembers this tone from a not so distant Tuesday night.

Rory doesn't answer; she simply continues to look at Jess, suddenly not caring whether he can read her. His mouth twitches and he looks up, almost as if he's deciding something, and takes another drag from the cigarette.

"Whatever it is, you'll be fine," he assures her, his voice thick with smoke. She watches as he looks at the ground and kicks a rock. "Just tell her it's my fault."

"It doesn't work that way," Rory mumbles, hugging her body. Sometimes she wished it did. _Defending_ him certainly didn't gain her ground with Dean or Lorelai. They stand in silence for a few seconds.

"Why did you say what you said?" she hears herself ask. Rory blinks, caught off guard by her own voice. She curses inside of her head. What if she didn't like what he had to say?

Jess regards her with a curious look, but she can't really read his expression. He just shrugs, looking down at his shoes.

"It's true."

It feels like she's been slapped, and suddenly Rory wants nothing more than to retreat from this conversation because she's not sure where it will take them. She's not sure if she can handle this conversation on top of everything else that's already happened today.

"Well that's great," Rory supplies bitterly, hardening her face into a glare. She watches Jess tense up, and when he locks eyes with her, she does everything she can to convey how much she thinks he sucks right now into the look she gives him.

"Well I don't really have a reason to believe I should feel otherwise, do I?" He asks flatly, taking a step back from her to study her face. It's a challenge, Rory realizes. He's calling her out to be honest about how she feels about him.

"No, I guess you don't," she hears herself say, laced in venom she didn't know she had in her. _Why can't you just tell him how you feel? This is so stupid_! A brief look of hurt crosses Jess's face but otherwise he's stone cold, clenching his jaw.

"Good, so I guess there won't be any more policing of my activities," Jess supplies coolly. Rory feels heat rising to her face in anger.

"You can do whatever you want," Rory snaps, moving to turn around back toward the front door. "I officially don't care."

Rory isn't more than a few paces away from Jess before she feels his presence beside her. She gives him a sideways glance and all but cringes at the glare he's giving her.

"Huh, you know, that's funny you should say that," Jess quips, picking up his pace to cut her off. He stands in front of her, his eyes flaring. Rory stands firm, balling her hands into fists.

"And why's that?"

"You seemed to care quite a bit this morning when you bolted from Luke's," Jess reminds her, his eyes dark. Rory's jaw clenches.

"You're right, I did care," Rory admits, eying him. He looks taken aback for a moment but recovers quickly.

"I mean, I'd just eaten," Rory continues, matter-of-factly. "If I didn't get out of there, I might have lost my breakfast watching you two suck face."

Jess laughs, but it's a cold and bitter sound.

 _I hate when you laugh like that. Please don't laugh like that_ , Rory pleas inwardly.

"Well hey," Jess remarks, lightly throwing a hand out to tap Rory's arm. "Now you know what it's like to watch you and Dean kiss."

Rory tenses up. So Lane _was_ right; Jess had seen her and Dean kiss that night. She couldn't think of another time he could have; Rory barely liked holding Dean's hand in public anymore, so kissing him was usually done in the privacy of her home. If she wasn't so angry, she might be able to focus on that.

"There's nothing gross about Dean and I—you know, two people in a _real, committed_ relationship—expressing affection for one another," Rory defends, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"The only thing _real_ about your relationship with Dean is your _commitment_ to pretending to enjoy being within two feet of him," Jess scoffs. Jess takes a step back when he sees the hurt and offense come across Rory's face, but his expression remains emotionless. Rory sees the lack of care in his face and she fumes. Who did he think he was, judging her relationship with Dean?

"Look," Jess begins.

"No," Rory says sharply, cutting him off. "You have no right to judge me and Dean's relationship."

"And you have no right to judge my relationship with Shane!"

"Shane?" Rory snickers. "As in, 'come back'?"

"Yup."

"Wow, what a winner. Her parents couldn't be more creative? Name her Rainbow, perhaps?"

 _Stop it,_ Rory instructs herself. She feels exhausted by this exchange. She doesn't want to fight with Jess, she just can't control the anger that rises, and somewhere deep down she's appreciative that she's even talking to him. It was a weird, twisted experience, and all she wanted was to stop it.

"Right, because 'Dean' just _screams_ cool," Jess deadpans. "That's pretty petty of you, Gilmore; judging Shane just by her name."

The urge to hurt him takes over before Rory can beat the instinct down.

"Oh, it's not just by her name," Rory remarks acidly, taking a step towards Jess. "It's also by the way she dresses and the company she chooses to keep."

Rory immediately regrets what she's said after it's left her mouth because for the first time, she can truly distinguish a look of hurt cross Jess's face. She thought it might have felt satisfying, but really, it just made her feel lousy. Before she can apologize, Jess clenches his jaw and closes the distance between them. Rory shifts uncomfortably and holds her breath, trying not to focus on the smell of his cologne.

"You didn't seem to mind my company when you were _throwing_ yourself into my arms," he says venomously, bringing his face dangerously close to hers. "Or when _you_ called _me_ to tell me about group."

Rory's pulse pounds in her ears. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her.

"I—"

"And you didn't seem to mind my company when you _lied to your boyfriend_ about where you were Tuesday night to get dinner with me after group." Jess punctuates words randomly with his finger, gesturing toward the ground.

 _That's not fair_. She inhales sharply.

"But—"

"And you _really_ didn't seem to mind my company all those times we talked about books and music and movies, or when we ended aforementioned night by almost kissing."

Rory's stomach clenches and she feels tears beginning to spring beneath her eyelashes. Jess breathes deeply in front of her, his chest rising and falling heavily. The tears start to blur her vision but she doesn't break eye contact with him. She vaguely wonders what happened to his cigarette but shakes the thought away, physically shaking her head in front of him.

"No?" He asks incredulously, misreading her actions. _No, no that's not what I mean_. She can't find her words so she uses her hands instead. Rory reaches out as Jess begins to back away, clutching his shirt in her hands, shaking her head furiously.

Jess jerks away from her, shaking his head.

"No, Rory. I'm not letting you fall into my arms again," he says sharply, backing away from her toward the door.

 _Don't walk away_ , she begs in her head. Her pulse quickens and her heart lodges itself in her throat, preventing her from calling out. How had this day even gotten to this point? They had gone an entire week without speaking, and now here they were, three fights in on the first day exchanging eye contact.

He turns away from her, sighing.

"You're not worth it," he says quietly, heading back inside.

The tears spill over in heavy streams at the sound of his words. Rory slowly feels unsteady and slowly sinks toward the concrete. She bends her knees and pulls them in closely, burying her head in her lap.

She can vaguely smell the cigarette burning near her, but all she can focus on is how everything she thought she finally wanted is going up in smoke around her.

Rory sits that way for a few minutes and looks at her watch. She sighs deeply through her nose. There was so much time left in group.

Impulsively Rory pulls out her phone and begins dialing. She sniffles and plays absently with the hem of her skirt, listening to one, two, three rings of the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Rory? What's wrong? Aren't you in group?"

Rory chokes as the tears start up again. "Mom, can you call Ms. Leon and tell her I had an emergency and needed to come home?"

"Rory, are you okay?" Lorelai asks, worry evident in her voice.

"I just need to come home," she admits, allowing herself to cry. "I'll tell you when I get there, okay? Can you please just do this for me?"

There's a deliberate pause on the other end before her mom finally speaks.

"Okay kiddo. You got it. Just, don't drive until you're calm, okay?"

"Okay," Rory agrees, pulling the phone away from her ear and ending the call.

"Oh _no_ ," Rory groans, rubbing her eyes. Her bag. Her keys. She had to go back in there.

Rory purses her lips and paces back and forth. How could she do this without drawing attention to herself? Maybe it didn't matter. If Lorelai was going to call, Ms. Leon would get an explanation, right? Right. And the guys would see her upset, sure, but they'd forget about it, right? Right.

It was Jess she didn't want to see. He didn't care for her tears or her feelings — he'd made that much certain. It didn't matter that he seemed to like her at some point; he had made it very clear that she wasn't who he wanted right now.

Pacing a bit more, Rory stops and stares at the cigarette abandoned by Jess. That cigarette. That dumb cigarette. That dumb cigarette by that jerk. As she stares at it, she's filled with the righteous anger of a woman scorned. Rory huffs and stalks back inside before she can lose her confidence.

* * *

The door bursts open and Jess watches with mild curiosity as Rory enters back into the group. Ms. Leon glances at her but continues to focus on Amry, who's sharing about the fight about… something and a bagel, Jess isn't really sure.

Rory averts his eyes and walks quietly over to her seat. Reluctantly, he notes that she's been crying. His chest tightens at how sad she looks against his better judgment and he frowns, annoyed with himself.

She picks up her things, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Jess raises an eyebrow. She was leaving? But they had to talk to Ms. Leon. Rory of all people wasn't the type to ditch out on something like that—not when it affected her grade.

Rory shoots a quick apologetic look at Ms. Leon before turning away. Jess can't hide his look of surprise as she retreats from the room.

He also can't stop the feeling of disappointment that settles in his chest as she walks out, closing the door behind her without so much as a glance in his direction.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the excerpts of literature in this chapter; I merely appreciate them:)**

AN: I'm sorry for the emotional distress of last chapter, but I really needed to write it for three reasons! 1) because Rory needed to be told how it was; 2) because it moves the story so that Literati can manifest; and 3) because WHO DOESN'T LOVE THE VERBAL SPARS OF RORY AND JESS? They're my favourite. This chapter is a lot of different perspectives, minimal Rory. I needed a break from her.

Welcome to all of the new "Followers"! Thanks so much for that and for favoriting :) I'd love for you to spend an extra moment or two to review, let me know why you're here xo I do take requests and feedback seriously! A reviewer reached out wanting more Jess/Ms. Leon interactions so I incorporated one in (it had been in the works anyways!) and I will incorporate more later to indulge their request :)

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to personally respond to all of the reviews yet from last chapter yet, but I will :) You consistent reviewers make my world go 'round, and thus, I dedicate this eleventh chapter to you! aka the LONGEST chapter of Taming Hemingway eva! (with the longest AN eva)

xx

Lorelai pinches the bridge of her nose, falling heavily onto a seat across from Rory, who had just finished unloading the entire day onto her. Rory, her mess of a daughter. Her mess of a daughter over a boy. And not just any boy, but Luke's nephew, who she had met in _anger management_. Rory was eighteen; it was about time for some soap box type drama, wasn't it?

She needed to be supportive. That much she knew. She hated Jess for making Rory cry. She hated him for being a jerk and causing her straight-A, Harvard-bound daughter to run out on her responsibilities. She hated him for making her lie to Ms. Leon about Rory needing to leave. She hated him for not giving Rory a chance to talk to him, for throwing Shane in her face.

And yet.

 _Am I a terrible mother? Have I become Emily Gilmore?_

"Mom, are you okay?" Rory asks in a small voice.

"I think I had a mild stroke. I'm fine," Lorelai assures her, shaking her head.

"So what now?" Lorelai adds, trying for a light hearted smile. Rory frowns across from her and fresh tears spill over.

Okay, smile failed. Note taken. No smiling.

"Babe," Lorelai soothes, reaching out a hand to rub Rory's sleeve. Her daughter throws her arm onto the table and buries her head into it. _I swear I'm going to kick Jess's ass for making my kid cry_.

"I don't want new shoes, mom," Rory mumbles from her sleeve.

"You don't want new shoes?" Lorelai asks incredulously, her eyes raising in pure confusion.

"Shoes?" Rory looks up now, equally confused.

"Rewind; what did you say?"

"I don't _know what to do_ ," Rory repeats, emphasizing every word to make sure she was clear.

"Oh. Sorry. That makes so much more sense. I thought you were losing it," Lorelai breathes out, shaking her head. Rory just blinks.

"I _am_ losing it," Rory admits, breathing heavily through her mouth. She rubs her nose with her sleeve. "I mean, he hates me. Jess hates me. I told you what he said."

"You did, but I don't remember you saying he hated you," Lorelai points out.

"Okay, but he basically said it."

"Oh, Rory. I know it seems really terrible right now, and trust me, being told you're not worth it by your crush sucks of epic proportions—seriously, they erect statues for martyrs like you who get clobbered in the name of love—, but it will get better. Trust my wisdom," Lorelai nods sincerely. The look on Rory's face isn't reassuring and Lorelai rubs her forehead.

 _Maybe Rory had forgotten Jess said she wasn't worth it. Maybe I shouldn't have reminded her._

"But we never even had a chance to have a failed relationship," Rory says sadly, quietly. She looks so small and fragile that it cracks Lorelai's heart in half. Stupid, stupid, stupid Jess.

"Screw Jess," Lorelai says suddenly, slamming her hand down on the table. Rory jumps. Ouch. "You're so worth it. You're the most 'worth it' kid ever. If you're worth giving birth to at 4:03 in the morning at sixteen, you're worth some smart ass kid's attention—"

"Mom!"

"What?"

"Did I do this?"

It's a loaded question. God, what was the answer? Lorelai hesitates.

"Mom?" Rory asks again, clearing her throat.

"Yes," Lorelai says with conviction, letting out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Hard part over. She musters up a serious face, one that she hopes conveys motherly wisdom.

"Yes you hear me, or…"

"Yes."

Rory looks at her and makes a noise that falls somewhere between hyperventilation and a choked back sob. Lorelai's facial expression breaks and she reaches out again, placing her hand over Rory's. Rory pulls her hand back, wipes a tear, and hugs her body. Lorelai frowns and pulls her own hand back.

"What?" she questions, crossing her arms.

"I just…"

"Wasn't expecting me to tell you the truth?"

 _Emily would be proud_ , Lorelai thinks bemusedly as Rory shoots her a fierce look that could rival any ice sculpture in coldness.

"Then why did you ask?" Lorelai continues, shrugging.

"You could have eased me into it," Rory admits, crossing her arms over her chest, looking off to the side. For the briefest of seconds, Lorelai wants to roll her eyes, but she doesn't. She simply takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Rory needed to hear the truth, but she'd already had quite the battle today.

"Maybe," Lorelai admits, offering a sympathetic smile. Rory sighs, and when she looks back at her mother, her eyes are softer. Less angry and defiant; more sad, desperate.

"Can I fix this?" Rory's voice is small, barely above a whisper.

"I don't know," Lorelai says honestly, uncrossing her arms to lay her hands on the table. "But running away from things isn't gonna help. Trust me, kid, I've done my fair share of that, and it definitely doesn't make things easier. Friday night dinners are a glaring testament of that."

A ghost of a smile crosses Rory's lips. Gaining momentum by the minimal encourager, Lorelai chooses to dive right in.

"I need to ask you again… what are you going to do?"

"I thought we established that Jess hates me."

"We don't know how Jess feels, other than that he's hurt right now. Which I can't blame him for—"

"You're taking his side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's _side_ , but I can understand why he's acting how he's acting. And I wasn't talking about Jess."

"You weren't?" Rory furrows her eyebrows, confused. Lorelai finally can't suppress the eye roll and lets it fly.

" _Dean_ ," she answers exasperatedly, flinging her hands up for emphasis. "Your boyfriend who, by the way, called three times for you today."

A mixture of pain and irritation cross Rory's features and she tenses. Lorelai continues.

"Yeah. I haven't heard you mention him once," Lorelai continues. Rory seems to shrink back in her seat and Lorelai softens. "Look, I don't mean to make you feel bad. I know you only just decided to try to figure things out with Jess. But just because Jess isn't where you want him to be right now doesn't mean you should continue to be dishonest to Dean."

"I haven't been... " Rory begins defensively but cuts herself off. There's a look of defeat on her face before she rubs her eyes furiously. "You're right."

"I… I am right," Lorelai falters at first, not expecting Rory's sudden change. Lorelai eyes her daughter suspiciously but, finding no hint of some scheming bear trap to fall into, continues. "Do you love Dean?"

"No wait," Lorelai shakes her head, waving her hand enthusiastically. _Need to approach this differently. I know she loves him. That's not enough to make a relationship work._ "Have you ever felt in love with Dean?"

"Yes," Rory answers quickly.

"Do you _still_ feel in love with Dean?"

"I don't know," she answers sharply, looking back up at Lorelai.

"Well you need to figure that out," Lorelai delivers cooly, shrugging with indifference. "Because it isn't fair for you to stay with Dean out of convenience."

"I'm not with him out of convenience!" Rory flares. "I know I'm a mess right now, but I do love Dean. I don't want to hurt him. Can't you see that? I don't want to hurt anyone!"

Rory bolts from the table and stalks off into her room. Shaking her head, Lorelai follows her quickly, before the door can slam in her face.

"This conversation isn't over."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't, not when I have to call and lie to your teacher because of a boy," Lorelai scoffs, crossing her arms. "You don't get to just shut it down."

"You're not allowed to use the mom card twice in one week," Rory accuses her weakly.

"I can do whatever I want!" Lorelai remarks. "I can eat chocolate for breakfast every day if I want to, I can sit all day and watch TV and get really terrible cramps in my back, because I've done my time, I've earned my right. You're only eighteen. You have a ways to go."

The tension between them hangs heavily, shifting spaces like a pendulum as the two exchange frowns. Sometime not that long ago, Lorelai had had resolve to be supportive, hadn't she? Yelling at Rory probably didn't quite meet that mark. She runs her hands through her hair, letting them fall to her thighs.

"I'm not going to throw away what I have with Dean on a chance," Rory says quietly, staring at her toes. "I know it seems wrong and unfair, and it probably is. But I didn't feel so disconnected from Dean until Jess came around… who knows, maybe it's just a phase."

Lorelai begins to protest, but Rory's gaze cuts her off.

"If Jess doesn't want to be with me, then okay. Let him be with Malibu Barbie—"

"Shane," Lorelai corrects with a smirk.

"—Shane, Rainbow, Alkaseltzer, whatever her name is," Rory rolls her eyes, the faintest of smirks tugging at her lips. "If he's going to take himself out of the picture, then I'll just learn how to be civil around him so Luke's isn't a nightmare."

"I won't have to see him anywhere else," Rory continues, rambling. She begins to pace around her room. "Maybe the occasional run-in at Doose's or the video store, but otherwise, that's it. And since he won't be around to confuse me or stir up whatever it is I've been feeling for him, things with me and Dean will go back to normal, and it'll be great and easy and safe."

"If that's what you want," Lorelai replies weakly, gently moving her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She'd been biting it to refrain from derailing the conversation.

"It is," Rory nods furiously, walking over to her mother and embracing her. Lorelai doesn't hesitate to return the embrace, happy to be able to let her emotions show on her face away from the vulnerable eyes of her offspring. She pulls away and takes a few steps back.

"You've had a tough day. I'll let you rest," Lorelai suggests, smiling. Rory nods and smiles back, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Lorelai notices but doesn't comment; she's sure the same is mirrored in her own demeanor.

Lorelai closes the door and quietly leans against it, letting the wood take the brunt of her weight. Where had this conversation even gotten them? Score one for successfully diffusing the emoti-bomb that was Rory, sure, but at what cost? Somehow Lorelai didn't feel any more certain about this than she had the other day. Should she have intervened, told Rory to break up with Dean to figure her life out? Run after Jess, force him to talk about how he felt? No, that wouldn't have helped; Rory probably wouldn't have listened anyway. Lorelai sighs and pushes herself off of the door, immediately dragging herself toward the stairs.

Rory was in denial—that much was obvious. Who knew how long it would take for her to do the right thing for herself? Poor Dean was going to be a casualty; she could see it now, unfolding in a gigantic, ugly burst of fireworks. Lorelai couldn't protect Rory, logical, meticulous, rational Rory, who was acting illogical, careless, and irrational at best. No; this was something Rory needed to work out on her own, in her own time. Lord knows that Lorelai had needed to have her fair share of things blow up in her face to make her stronger.

Lorelai sighs.

 _If she learned nothing else from me, it's how to run away screaming from your feelings_ , Lorelai thinks bitterly. _They should make a show about us, about people who lie to themselves and eat too much junk food. They can call it 'Denial with a Side of Fries: A Comedy.'_

Lorelai casts one last wistful look toward Rory's room as she places a hand on the banister of the stairs. She didn't like Jess, but she knew one thing was certain: he was who her daughter truly wanted. Rory could hide from her feelings all she wanted, and hell, Jess could too. But the fact remained that less than a week prior, the two were willing to withstand all collateral damage in an almost-kiss; that was no small thing, and Lorelai knew that no amount of willpower or compartmentalization on Rory's end was going to magically erase the chemistry between the two.

It was now simply a matter of waiting until Rory realized that, too.

"Poor Dean," Lorelai whispers to herself, finally tearing her eyes away to walk up the stairs.

xx

He sits across from Ms. Leon in her office, the two staring at each other awkwardly. The room reminds him of Principal Jeffreys' office and he frowns at the realization. He breaks eye contact with the social worker and looks around, scanning the bookshelves against the walls for anything worthwhile. A lot of group work books, books about working with diverse populations. Nothing catches his interest and he sighs, finally turning his gaze back onto the blonde across from him.

"So I'm here," Jess says with a tinge of annoyance. What was she going to do? Stare at him all night? There were other things he could do with his time.

"So you are," Ms. Leon agrees, amusement dancing in her eyes. A few more moments pass in silence. Jess scowls.

"You gonna give me a pep talk or what?" He asks impatiently. He jabs a finger behind him. "''Cuz I have places to be."

Ms. Leon leans back in her chair and offers him an unimpressed look. She purses her lips and slightly swivels in her chair, keeping her eyes focused on him. Jess lets out a heavy breath through his nose, stretching himself out lazily. He crosses his arms and gives her a blank look, waiting.

"Would you happen to know anything about Ms. Gilmore's departure?" She asks evenly, raising an eyebrow. He smirks.

"Sounds like you're asking me to disclose private information about a client," Jess points out casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Haven't pulled out your Code of Ethics lately?"

He eyes her, challenging her. _Take the bait_. He waits, poised, ready to get a snappy dismissal. Put him out of his misery. _Come on, I'm just some punk kid to you. Take the bait._

To his chagrin, Ms. Leon chuckles.

 _What the hell_.

She wasn't supposed to laugh. She was supposed to call him a pretentious good for nothing and tell him to take a hike. That's what teachers always did. Jess frowns, feeling like he'd lost something he could count on.

"You know, Jess," Ms. Leon says, smiling. "You remind me a lot of my nephew."

"Great," Jess groans, throwing himself back into the chair. To say he was disinterested in bonding with Ms. Leon would be the understatement of the century. Luke had tried to do a bonding thing with him two days ago; at least, he thinks that's what it was. He'd managed to get Luke flustered, though. Ms. Leon's face grows serious then and he averts his gaze, preparing for the impending lecture.

"He's not really a verbal person either."

Jess blinks.

"He would say that… what was it," she offers distractedly, pawing at a piece of paper on her desk. Jess raises an eyebrow and leans in a bit. He hadn't noticed the open file on her desk. His open file.

 _Hey, for once I don't have a thick file,_ he marvels to himself.

"... that the talking thing comes and goes," she says with a smile, wiggling her eyebrows at him. Jess rolls his eyes, but can't help leaning forward in the chair, letting his eyes look toward the file. He had said that in a therapy session months ago.

"Is everything I talk about in there?" he asks curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep… though, as you can tell, your file isn't exactly an anthology," Ms. Leon notes, shrugging before letting the file close on her desk again.

Jess shrugs in kind and props his elbow up on his knee, resting his head in his hands. His head was beginning to hurt. Too much small talk couldn't be good for him.

"Look, Jess," Ms. Leon sighs. "I've read your file. Not this one," she taps it with her finger, "but the one from your old high school. I know you're mandated to be here, and I know you don't think that you need anger management."

"Because I don't," Jess informs her.

"I'm sure it feels pretty obnoxious to be made to go to a group when you feel that the fight that landed you here wasn't your fault."

It's a statement, not a question. Jess looks askance at Ms. Leon, searching her face. Was this sincere or some reverse psychology bullshit to make him open up? He wouldn't put it past her. This was her job, after all. Oh well. He'd bite. Jess nods.

"Can I tell you something about myself? Full disclosure," she asks, shifting gears, a smirk tugging at her lips.

"Are you trying to bond with me? Because my uncle tries, and I gotta tell you, it doesn't work out so well for him," Jess supplies casually.

"You caught me," Ms. Leon holds up her hands in surrender, guilty as charged. "But I was the poor kid in a rich school, too. And while I didn't end up in group therapy, I did end up in my fair share of fights." She pauses, dipping her head to meet his eyes. Jess doesn't look at her, but he gathers that she realizes he's listening because she continues.

"Ugh, like this one girl. Stacy McDowell. What a freakin' peach, that girl was," the woman grimaces, shaking her head. "I had to stay after-school and clap erasers for _hours_ while all she got was a warning. Smaller example, but I'm sure it sounds familiar."

Jess feels himself getting annoyed for some reason. He didn't want her to try to relate to him. She had no idea what his life had been like in New York; the rich brats at school were only a part of the full problem.

"My principal also recommended I see a therapist. Saw the fights as a character flaw of mine. Mind you, my parents' money wasn't filling his pockets, so it was easy to blame it on the poor kid. And I hated every second of it until I decided to stop fighting it, and that really was transformative for me."

"Am I supposed to be inspired or something?" Jess asks sardonically, crossing his arms over his chest to glare at her. Ms. Leon doesn't flinch or change her facial expression; she simply stares back, folding her hands together on her desk.

"No. I just wanted you to know that just because I appear one way to you, doesn't mean I have absolutely no concept of what frustration looks like. And I also wanted to end on that note because I think if you let it, the group could be useful in working through other underlying factors. It might be freeing."

Jess glares and grits his teeth. Suddenly, he hears Rory's curt voice in his head, and his blood pressure rises.

" _... maybe you could benefit from shifting your perspective."_ She had delivered it evenly, pointedly, coldly. He was tired of people assuming they knew more about how he saw things when they couldn't even open up themselves.

 _Except Ms. Leon did just open up to you, dumbass_ , his subconscious volleys sharply. He pushes it down, letting himself ride out the momentum.

"Thanks for your _nugget_ of wisdom, Spinoza," Jess snaps. "Hey, here's an idea though. How about we get to the point of why you really asked me to stay? Cause I know it involved Rory, and since she's not here, maybe you can just cut to the chase and let me go at a decent hour. You know, _free me_ and all."

"I want to know what happened in group today," Ms. Leon replies, not missing a beat. Jess shifts uncomfortably, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"You were there."

"Right, I watched the car crash happen. But I don't know what caused it."

"You really do need Rory here," Jess dismisses, waving his hand flippantly. "She orchestrated it."

"And you had no role?" Ms. Leon shakes her head skeptically.

"No, I didn't," Jess flares, gripping the armrest of the chair.

"You seem to be getting quite angry about it," Ms. Leon muses, "for somebody who had no investment in the banter."

He didn't need this. Fuck her and her trying to get in his business. Jess shakes his head and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. He had no role in this. None. Rory had made it very clear when she chose Dean over him. What was he supposed to do, just sit back and let her attack him in group?

"Mr. Mariano, we aren't done here," Ms. Leon's voice rises as he heads for the door.

"You can stay as long as you want," he throws over his shoulder. "But me? Yeah, I'm pretty done here."

"You have no idea how this works, do you." It was a statement, not a question. Jess releases his hand from the door and turns slowly to face her.

"I send progress to Principal Jeffreys," Ms. Leon reveals, placing a hand on his file again. "I tell him whether you've made progress."

"Like I give a shit about what you think," Jess retorts.

"It isn't about whether you care, Jess. Without my reports saying that you're doing better, your case can be terminated."

Jess can't hide the look of hopefulness on his face. Wait, really? He would have let Phillip hit him all those months ago if it would have gotten him thrown out.

"Huh," is all he says.

"Don't get any ideas," she says evenly. "If your case is terminated, it means the school won't release your transcripts to count toward your new high school credits."

All hope of an early escape drains from Jess's face.

"The quiet ones are always quick connectors," she says mostly to herself. "So you know that means you could be held back _and_ still need to pay off the fines for the trophy case."

Jess was fuming. The more this conversation dragged on, the more it felt like a threat. Like an ultimatum. Be a good boy and play nice or else.

"I really need to see some effort from you. Up until now, I've been generous. But I don't have to be."

Jess narrows his eyes. He didn't do ultimatums. Well, unless you counted being shipped off to Stars Hollow. But he'd kind of wanted to go after the spectacle with Liz.

 _Liz_. He hadn't thought about her in weeks. He files a mental note to come up with a casual way to bring her up to Luke.

"And I determine our interns," Ms. Leon adds pointedly. Jess tenses at her reference to a certain blue-eyed brunette.

"So I'd really like you to take a chance, lay down that 'The world can bite my ass' facade you have going on, and level with me a little. Because if I don't fully understand what's going on, I have to make uninformed decisions that affect multiple people. And since you participated in the violation of group code of conduct today, you did play a role."

Jess clenches his fist. He had a choice to make. He could care less about his transcripts. He hated high school anyway. Stars Hollow High was a far cry from academic excellence; he'd be better off just dropping out and getting his GED. (Luke wouldn't stand for that, though. This much he knew about his uncle.) So it didn't really matter to him if he was terminated from group. His mind attempts to bring up the fact that it meant he'd see Rory even less, but he pushes it down into the realm of thoughts that serve zero purpose.

But if he stayed, it meant he was playing into Ms. Leon's hand. It meant he was helping Rory. Chivalry wasn't his thing, but he had tried for her. He had tried to be open and unassuming and _vulnerable_ , for Christ's sake. He'd practically thrown himself at her. And she had spit on it. So she didn't deserve his help, not after the petulant crap she'd put him through three times that day. Rory was a big girl, and if she was going to run away every time things got messy, she was in for a rude awakening.

He shakes his head.

"You'll have to talk to Rory. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing going on with us," he answers honestly, surprising himself. "You won't get any outbursts from me so long as princess minds her manners."

And, without so much as an attempt to protect Rory from the consequences of her actions, Jess turns back around and closes the door behind him.

Rory could deal with the repercussions.

He didn't need to be her savior.

xx

"Alright, spill."

Jess looks up lazily from his book a few days later, elbows propped up on the diner counter.

"Okay. That shirt _does_ make you look fat," Jess informs his uncle before dropping his head to go back to his book.

"Ha ha," Luke drawls sarcastically. He points the rag in his hand accusingly at his nephew.

"You've been acting weird the past few days, and I'm tired of seeing your ass on that stool reading," Luke continues decisively. Jess gives him a disinterested glance, but Luke notes the vein in his neck. _Struck a nerve_.

Luke wasn't the most observant person, but Jess had been around for a few weeks now. He wasn't an expert on the kid by any means, but he knew when Jess wasn't being himself. He went in and out of being this moody, moping kid to being positively nuclear, a bomb waiting to go off. One minute Jess was actually _asking_ if Luke needed the bathroom before hogging it to work on his hair, and the next he was yelling at him over God knows what. Today it was the silent brooding, and it was really working his last nerve.

What's more, Luke noticed that periodically when the bell chimed over the diner door, his nephew would tense and tentatively glance toward the entrance, not making any sudden movements otherwise. Luke had been kind of thrown off and confused at first, but once he noticed a steady absence of Lorelai's other half, Luke had started putting two and two together.

It was just a matter of making Dallas Winston over there spill his guts a little.

"Come on Jess," Luke persists, leaning in closer to his nephew. "If you won't talk, you'd better get your ass to work; I don't pay you to sulk." Jess grimaces and lets his eyes trail up to Luke's face, offering him a menacing look.

Jess begins to retort when the bell over the door chimes again, followed by the loud ramblings of Lorelai Gilmore. He watches as Jess sucks in a breath, his fingers involuntarily gripping the page he's on. Luke, confused, looks up and realizes that Lorelai isn't just rambling loudly. She's rambling loudly to somebody else, and that somebody was Rory.

Lorelai stops talking, and Luke looks from Jess, to Lorelai, to Rory, and then down at his rag. An uncomfortable silence sprouts between the two pairs, and Luke swears he hears an eagle cawl. The diner gets so quiet so quickly that he's certain they've been transported into some old Western movie, and he tentatively peers over the counter, half expecting a tumbleweed to go on by.

Lorelai exchanges a look with him, and she nods subtly toward Rory. Luke's gaze travels over to her. Rory looks like all of the blood has drained out of her face as she stares not quite at Jess, but off to the side of his torso. Her chest rises and falls in ragged, shallow breaths.

He looks back at his nephew, noting the color also draining from his face.

"Coffee?" Luke asks awkwardly, breaking the silence. It's almost like his interruption unpauses the scene, and the conversations in the diner become louder, the clanking of utensils more pronounced. It's also almost as if it mobilizes the teenagers, who begin moving and talking at the same time.

"Gotta go."

"I'll be upstairs."

Before Lorelai and Luke can blink, Jess expertly slides himself off of the stool, bolting behind the curtain to the upstairs apartment; Rory disappears out of the diner, the only indication that she'd been there at all the sound of the bell banging against the wood.

"What the hell just happened?" Luke exclaims, exasperated. Lorelai sighs and offers him a small smile, sliding onto a stool a few away from the one Jess had previously occupied.

"Teenage hormones?" Lorelai offers lightheartedly, smiling as he places a cup of coffee in front of her. He loved her smile.

 _Focus._

"What are you saying?" Luke asks, placing both hands on the counter.

"Can I get some service over here?" Kirk chimes in from the corner, waving a menu around.

"In a minute Kirk," Luke calls gruffly, a look of mild annoyance plastered on his face.

"Okay, I'm counting," Kirk answers with dedication, staring at his watch. That guy was one jacket short of an insane asylum; Luke swore to it. He shakes his head, eyes going back to the woman in front of him.

"I'm _saying_ ," she emphasizes, placing her cup down, "that we witnessed the aftermath of a lover's quarrel."

Lovers? Quarrel? Jess and Rory? _Jess and Rory?!_ He had assumed there was a weird fight happening between the two, but now that Lorelai had verbalized feelings involved, it made _so_ much more sense.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Luke asks, his mouth dropping open. He continues in a stage whisper, "They're dating? How the hell did I miss that?!"

"Not dating," Lorelai corrects quickly.

Not _dating? So_ no _feelings involved?_ Luke scratches his head.

"Then wh—"

"It's been a minute, Luke."

"Kirk, give me another minute."

"I can't do that Luke." Luke glares, but Kirk straightens up and continues. "You told me a minute and now it's been a minute and… twenty one, two, three seconds, and you still haven't taken my order. I can't trust that you'll actually come this t—"

"Shut up, Kirk!" Babette yells from the table in the corner, Miss Patty nodding fervently.

"But…"

"We're trying to listen to what's going on with Rory and Jess," Miss Patty hisses, effectively shutting Kirk up. He pouts and crosses his arms, resuming the intense scrutiny of the second hands ticking away on his watch.

"I need to move," Luke mutters to himself, absentmindedly refilling Lorelai's coffee mug. She smiles but it fades quickly as she leans toward him across the counter.

Her face is so close, he can practically smell her shampoo. Luke closes his eyes, deciding that it makes him a creep to do that without permission, and retreats a step.

"So what's going on with them?" He says in a whisper, eyeing the peanut gallery to his right.

"Rory and Jess knew each other before Jess moved here," Lorelai explains.

Luke nods.

"I know."

"You know? How do you know?" Lorelai wants to know, her mouth agape.

"My kid talks to me too," Luke says flatly, raising an eyebrow. Honestly, it was as if she thought he didn't know which side of Jess was his front or back.

"Jess doesn't talk, he grunts and mumbles," Lorelai disagrees. "I can't believe you knew! And you were holding out on me."

"Holding out?" Luke asks incredulously. "You already knew!"

"Yeah, but _you_ didn't know that I knew."

"So doesn't that mean you've been holding out on _me_?"

"I…" Lorelai falters, a victim of her own game. Luke smirks and rubs the counter with his towel again, feeling smug.

"I call a rematch."

"What?"

"Yeah, a rematch of this conversation."

"You can't call a rematch of a conversation."

"Says who?"

"Says any sane person."

"Aha, see that's where you've been duped! I am arguably less sane than most people," Lorelai challenges, smiling.

"You can say that again," Luke shakes his head, unable to hide a smile from gracing his face. The two exchange a lighthearted, warm smile. Luke sighs in contentment.

 _I love her._ _Whoa. What?_ Love _her?_

"Luke?" Lorelai questions. Luke snaps to attention, averting her eyes. He feared that if she looked at him, what he'd just thought would be all over his face. And that wasn't territory he was willing to cross.

"Nothing, sorry. So they go to anger management, what's that got to do with it?" Luke backpedals, clearing his threat.

"Well ironically," Lorelai whispers, "they fought at anger management. But prior to this Rory, God knows why, likes Jess, and when she went to talk to him to tell him the other day, I guess she saw him with Shane."

 _Ah_. That made sense.

"I was wondering why she peeled out of here Tuesday morning," he says, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah. So later that night they fought like I said. Jess basically told Rory to take a hike and she came home a mess."

Lorelai leans back away from the counter. Luke mulls this over in his head. Jess was acting too weird for him to have _zero_ interest Rory. Something had to give with that. Forgetting how dangerous it felt to be so close to Lorelai, Luke leans in again.

"Okay, but Jess has been a wreck the last few days. Moodier than usual, if you can imagine."

"I can but I'm not sure I want to," Lorelai admits.

"Yeah, well, be glad you have that option. I don't get why he would just tell Rory to take a hike. She'd be great for him."

"I think he feels kinda used by her," Lorelai admits sadly, frowning.

Luke ponders this, searching her face. This was strange. There was no overt threat to Jess's wellbeing coming out of her mouth. If he didn't know any better, and really he didn't, it sounded like Lorelai was _empathizing_ with his nephew.

"I'm missing something," he decides quietly, shaking his head.

"What was that, sugar?" Babette crows from the table. Luke and Lorelai turn towards the blonde, practically falling over in her chair to lean in, along with Miss Patty.

"You guys are insane," Luke informs them, scowling. Lorelai smiles and tugs on his sleeve, gesturing to follow her. He raises a questioning eyebrow but doesn't protest. He simply follows her into the storage room, closing the door behind them.

" _Eew_ , you have pickled radish?" Lorelai asks, wrinkling her nose in disgust, pointing at a set of jars to her right.

"Yes, believe it or not, I carry things other than coffee grounds and the basic ingredients for cheeseburgers, pancakes, and pie," Luke deadpans, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"And here I thought your world revolved around me," she teases with a smile. Luke swallows and shifts uncomfortably, crossing his arms. As if planned, Lorelai does the same, a small shade of pink rising to her cheeks.

"So…." Luke trails off, shrugging his shoulders forward in a gesture that meant she should continue.

"Okay, right," Lorelai nods quickly, seemingly grateful for the reminder. "Rory and Jess aren't dating."

"You told me. And he feels used?"

"I think so. Okay so the long version: Rory and Jess have hugged a few times—"

"They hugged _again_? Didn't we tell him like a zillion times that she had a boyfriend?"

"Yeah well, apparently it's been Rory initiating the hugs, not—wait a sec, you knew about a first hug, _too_?! Luke Danes! I thought you told me everything. This is two betrayals in one day."

"Lorelai, get on with it please?"

"Right sorry. So they intensely hugged and I guess Rory lied about staying late for a group, when really she was out with Jess. And they almost kissed, and then Dean came in, and Rory sent Jess away. Fast forward to Rory and Jess fighting several times at group because she wanted to tell him she liked him and he basically told her to get over herself."

Luke blinks and rubs his forehead. He felt a headache coming on. This was a lot.

Luke had had his suspicions, but with no obvious traces of flirting in his midst, Luke had honestly chalked it up to they'd had a fight as friends. Sure, Jess had gotten a little grouchy whenever he'd tried to ask about his feelings for her, but Jess got a little grouchy at everything. Luke couldn't ask him how he liked his bacon without getting a snarky comment.

So there it was.

In what feels like a whirlwind of neuron activity, everything clicks. The smile plastered on Jess's face every Tuesday and Thursday. The horrible mood for days. Shane. The bad mood to rival all bad moods on Tuesday night. The edginess. The lack of Rory.

Jess didn't just like Rory.

He _really_ liked Rory.

"I can't believe it."

Luke was shocked. Jess just didn't seem like the type to freak out over a girl.

"Believe w—"

"I can't believe it," Luke repeats to himself, shaking his head. "This all makes so much sense."

"What makes sense?" Lorelai asks persistently, waving a hand in his face to gain his attention.

"The way Jess has been acting. God it's been like living with Albert Belle! I swore I thought he was gonna throw a plate at my head last night when I told him there was a smudge on a glass," Luke shakes his head and places his hands on his hips. "He's so hot and cold. He goes from being borderline psychotic to a passive aggressive Eeyore without a tent."

"Well, I can't blame him," Lorelai supplies honestly, shrugging her shoulders. "Rory is really giving him mixed signals."

Luke sighs, taking it all in. He really couldn't believe all of this was over a girl.

"I can't believe this is about Rory," Luke sighs, frowning. "I thought maybe he'd finally talked to Liz or somethin'."

"Still no contact?" Lorelai asks, her face softening.

"Nope, guess not. Real piece of work, my sister," Luke grumbles, shaking his head in disappointment. He really did expect better of her. Liz had always been a bit of a loose cannon, but Jess was her son. He was family. You were supposed to do better by family.

"That's really har—"

The storage room door opens. Lorelai jumps about three feet in the air with Luke's heart skips a panicked beat. The moment had been heavy, tranquil almost, before the interruption.

" _Jesus_ , Jess," Luke bellows, huffing. His heart pounds in his ear, and the strange smell of… was that peaches? enters his nostrils.

"Sorry, didn't realize this was your makeout spot," Jess says with a smirk.

"What are you…" Luke trails off, and he realizes that the peach smell is Lorelai. Lorelai, who had jumped three feet straight _into his arms_. He exchanges a look with the brunette and they hop apart. Luke's throat closes up, his heart lodged in it.

"Don't let _me_ interrupt," Jess says dismissively, moving past the two toward the back door. Luke clears his threat, trying to find his voice.

"Where are you going?" He croaks.

"Uh…." Jess trails off, freezing mid step. Lorelai looks at Luke, and he in turn looks at her before returning to look at his nephew. Something in Lorelai's face told Luke that he was missing something obvious.

"Nothing, needed ketchup," Jess says quickly, snatching a bottle of Heinz off of the shelf. Luke cocks his head.

"Okay…" Luke drags out, scratching his head.

Jess slips past them quietly and closes the door behind him.

"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Luke asks, turning his gaze from the closed door back to Lorelai. She smiles, and Luke's heart flutters a bit. She shakes her head and pats Luke on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Lorelai chuckles, shrugging, her hand still resting on Luke. "I think you should talk to Jess today."

Luke eyes her hand, feeling the warmth of it caressing his skin through his shirt. Lorelai suddenly looks embarrassed and retracts her hand, hugging her chest. Luke nods, trying to forget the feeling of her weight in his arms, her touch on his body.

"Yeah…" Luke agrees hesitantly, looking to where Jess had exited.

Nothing in him wanted to have a conversation with his nephew, at least not until his mood swings evened out.

xx

Luke apprehensively peeks his head in the doorway of the apartment, looking for signs of Jess. It had been several hours since he'd last seen his nephew. He'd begrudgingly mumbled "out" when Luke had asked where he was going post-awkward storage room encounter.

Luke takes a step in and peers around the corner, spotting Jess on the couch, book in hand, scribbling away. Luke sighs and walks over to the couch.

xx

"What?" Jess growls after Luke stands there for a minute watching him. Jess sticks a thumb in his book and closes it to glare at his uncle. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"I want you to tell me what your problem is," Luke says simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"How much time do you have?" Jess scowls, rolling his eyes.

"As much time as you need."

Jess blinks back the shock he's feeling and replaces it was mild skepticism. Searching his uncle's face, Jess softens; Luke wasn't being sarcastic. The look in his eyes was genuine, honest, even borderline sympathetic. Jess grinds his teeth, mulling things over in his head.

On one hand, Jess appreciated— _Is that the word_? When had he last appreciated somebody?—Luke and his concern, despite being mostly surly and overprotective. Liz rarely showed anything but Vodka-infused affection or mild disdain for him. It was nice to know somebody was in his corner, even if it bugged Jess sometimes.

On the other, Jess would rather lick paint than explain to Luke that he was feeling moody over what happened with Rory. The less he dealt with it, the quicker he could repress it. Repress her and all of the feelings that came with her. At least, he hoped that was the case. It seemed ever since he met the girl, his tried and true tactics of self preservation had failed him.

"You're gonna need dental work if you keep doing that," Luke says matter-of-factly.

Jess stops grinding his teeth and sighs.

"Look, just having a bad day," he half lies, opening his book back up. "Thanks though."

He expects this to work, that this small display of honesty and effort will satisfy Luke enough to propel him back from whence he came. Jess gets three sentences in before he realizes that Luke hasn't budged.

 _He doesn't know when to quit, huh?_

"You have nothing better to do than watch me read?" Jess asks flatly, not looking up from his book.

"Oh, I have plenty of better things to do," Luke informs him, nodding. He takes a seat on the armchair by the couch. "I'm just not taking your lousy answers."

"Buzz off," Jess snaps, throwing his book on the couch. He needed to get out of there.

"Jess, I know this is about Rory," Luke calls as Jess stalks across the room to get his jacket. He tenses for a minute but recovers quickly, hoping it goes unnoticed by his uncle.

It doesn't.

"Yeah, exactly. _Rory_ ," Luke drags out her name, emphasizing the syllables. "Remember her? The one who you shot out of the diner like a bat out've hell over?"

"It had nothing to do with her," Jess defends quickly, looking for his keys. Luke follows him as he looks for them.

"You're awfully defensive," Luke says innocently. "And you're full of shit. Lorelai told me what happened."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jess says, mustering up his best look of feigned innocence.

"I think you do," Luke counters, crossing his arms. "I think you're pissed at Rory because you like her and you don't want to let her in because you think she might hurt you."

 _Lucky guess._

"You're delusional," Jess breathes indignantly, giving up on his keys. He knew how to get in without them, anyway. He sidesteps Luke to get to the door, pulling it wide open.

Before he can slam it behind him, Luke grips the door with one hand and grabs Jess's shirt with the other. He yanks Jess back and closes the door, leaning against it to prevent another escape attempt.

Jess is furious.

"What the hell, man?"

"You," Luke punctuates by jabbing a finger in Jess's chest, "are going to talk to me. I know what happened between you and Rory is crappy, Jess, but is ignoring her and blowing up at me really going to fix things?"

Jess swats Luke's finger away, balling his hands into fists. He furrows his eyebrows.

"I haven't blown up at you," he insists.

"Oh, no?" Luke challenges. "Cause I can list them on both hands, and that's just the past two days."

Jess retreats into himself and stalks back toward the couch. He really didn't want Luke to tally the times. He knew he'd been a ticking time bomb.

"Just drop it Luke."

"I will after you spill your guts about why you're ignoring Rory."

"I'm not ignoring Rory."

"You're selectively giving her attention."

" _Me_?"

Jess's blood pressure skyrockets, and he rounds on Luke.

" _She's_ the one giving selective attention! She can't make up her goddamn mind about whether she wants to be with me or with that walking skyscraper, and this is _my_ fault? I don't want to get dicked around by some girl and it's all on _me_? No, screw that, I'm not taking it from her and I'm sure as hell not taking it from you!"

Jess finishes in a huff, his chest rising and falling heavily with every breath. Luke looks mildly startled by the outburst— _Add another to the tally of explosions_ , Jess thinks bitterly—but otherwise remains calm, stoic even. He reaches out a hand and pats Jess's shoulder, causing the younger man to recoil.

"I knew you liked her," Luke reveals smugly. "Feel better?" he continues, a small smirk gracing his features.

Jess's mouth drops. He'd been duped.

"Bet you feel proud of yourself," Jess grumbles, running a finger through his hair. Luke knew exactly what he was doing. Jess had just been too enraged to realize the rug was being slowly tugged from under him.

"Just a little," Luke supplies noncommittally, shrugging. "And Jess…"

"I don't wanna talk about this Luke," Jess sighs, his voice softening. And he really, _really_ didn't. He had been successfully pushing all emotions that weren't anger down, and now that Luke had stirred things up, the other things were surfacing: hurt, betrayal, longing. It didn't matter that Rory hadn't been officially committed to him; she'd made him feel like there was more than just a chance. Leading him on like that…

"I did like her," Jess fibs, shrugging. "But I don't now."

"Jess, you need to talk to her. Hear her out," Luke suggests softly.

"I don't need to do anything. She knew exactly how I felt and chose to drag me around anyway."

"Jess, you're an idiot."

"How do you figure?" Jess practically snarls, feeling anger risking yet again.

"Because Rory _likes_ you."

"She sure has a funny way of showing it."

"Yeah well, maybe if she knows how you feel—"

"I don't feel anything for her," Jess cuts Luke off.

"Yes you do!" Luke explodes, pointing an accusatory finger at his nephew. "You wouldn't be walking around here the way you've been if you didn't _still_ like her."

Jess averts Luke's eyes and crosses his arms, sighing. Luke takes this as Jess's silent acknowledgment that maybe, just a little bit, Luke was right.

"I know you feel used and all that," Luke continues, "and from what it sounds like you deserve to be angry, but Rory needs to know how you feel."

Jess takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly.

"Why?" he hears himself ask.

"Jess, she's been dating this kid for almost three years now," Luke explains, softening his voice. "She isn't going to break it off with him if she doesn't know you're a sure thing. Rory likes rules and order, and you're the complete opposite of both of those things."

"Gee, thanks," Jess mumbles, rolling his eyes.

"Just think about it," Luke says with a shrug. "Maybe if you swallow your ego and tell her you like her, you'd get better results than shoving a scantily clad blonde in front of her."

Jess glares, Luke shrugs, and then he turns to exit the apartment door.

Jess watches Luke leave and runs his hands through his hair, blowing out another deep breath. It was nice to know that the feelings were mutual, even if it didn't come from Rory herself.

"Thought you didn't care, Mariano," Jess mutters condescendingly to himself, walking back over to where he'd dropped his jacket.

He snatches it off of the floor and tugs it on, zipping it up. He needed to think about what Luke had said. He hadn't considered that it might be unreasonable, _irresponsible_ almost, for Rory to jump into things with him. Jess was never one for long term commitments, and because of such, he hadn't really ever asked how long Dean had been in the picture. He almost couldn't be mad at her for being confused and hesitant.

Jess sighs, grabbing his discarded book, looking at the sentence he'd left off on.

" _They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate_."

Jess digs in his pocket for a pen, scribbles something next to the sentence, and heads out of the apartment. Thinking of the bridge, Jess nods to himself, and takes off down the stairs to his destination.

xx

Rory flops back onto her stomach, the fourth shift she'd made in her bed in an hour. Nothing she did made her more comfortable; she'd tried sitting upright, lying on her belly, dangling her feet over the side of the bed. She was simply too tense to read comfortably.

She groans and puts down her book, resting her left cheek on the comforter. Rory stares out of her bedroom window at the sunset, sighing softly to herself. Her life might feel like it's in shambles, but at least the sky was still pretty. Something in her life was consistent.

Rory hadn't been able to get Jess out of her mind all day. All week, actually. Her determination Tuesday night to move on, get over him, and focus her efforts on Dean had faded by Wednesday morning, and effectively been shattered today at the sight of him. The thought of Jess wanting nothing to do with her (but everything to do with Shane) was soul crushing. And the voicemail from her teacher, letting her know that she would have a new group assignment, had really just delivered the final blow to stomp out her spirits.

She'd barely bothered to talk to Dean, lying that she wasn't feeling well the past few days. He'd come over at one point to bring her soup, and she had done a frantic dance to make herself look sick and unattractive. And in many ways, Rory wasn't feeling well. But she couldn't bring herself to tell Dean that she was feeling heartbroken over another guy.

She sighs again, rolling over onto her back, folding her hands on her stomach. She knew this was her fault; Lorelai and Jess had been right.

Rory picks up her cell phone and dials the Kim house.

"Hello, Kim Antique's?"

"Hi, Mrs. Kim. It's Rory."

"I hear you're sick. Are you drinking ginger tea?"

"N-no, I'm not."

"Drink ginger tea. Good for illness."

"Okay, I will. Um, can I talk to Lane?"

"Lane is preparing for bible study."

"Please, Mrs. Kim? Just for two minutes? It's important."

"Okay fine. Two minutes."

Rory hears scuffling on the other end as she's passed from Mrs. Kim's hands to her best friend's.

"Wow, how did you manage to get Mrs. Kim to let you talk to me?" comes an impressed Lane on the other end. Rory smiles, her first in what felt like days.

"I agreed to take her advice on drinking ginger tea? Maybe that did it."

"Gross. She makes me drink pots and pots of it whenever I even get a sniffle. It's horrible."

"Oh no, really?" Rory asks, concerned. "She won't expect me to tell her how I like it?"

"Oh she definitely will."

"Great, one more thing to lie about," Rory mutters to herself.

"How are you feeling? Still sick?" Lane is met with a loud groan from Rory, so she continues.

"Okay, spill. Why are you calling? Not that I don't want to talk to you, I love talking to you, you're my best friend, but you never call during Bible study set up, and you're grunting like a cavewoman."

"I… Lane, I don't know what to do with myself."

"Okay…"

"I've been moping around my house for days. Lying to you, Dean, the town - I'm not sick! Not really. Just… depressed, I think."

"What's going on?" Lane asks, clear concern in her voice.

"You're going to think it's stupid."

"Try me."

"Jess has a girlfriend."

"Oh."

"Or a playboy bunny, I really can't tell. But I tried to talk to him about how I felt, and he basically told me he hates me."

"Ouch. You're a regular Brad Paisley song, huh?"

"Gee, thanks," Rory mumbles.

"Sorry."

"And I've been reading poetry."

"Which you love," Lane supplies.

"Which I love _d_ ," Rory emphasizes the past tense. "Everything I read depresses me!"

"Look, Mama Kim is staring at me from the doorway, so I think I have to go... but my suggest is that you get out of the house. Go out the back door so the townspeople can't bombard you with wellness routines, and just clear your head. I'll meet you at… well, not at Luke's, but _by_ Luke's tomorrow, and we can talk about how we're going to murder Jess and his life sized Barbie doll, okay?"

Rory smiles again and nods her head. Realizing Lane can't see her, she chimes in.

"Yeah, sounds good. I think I will. Thanks Lane. Go… I don't know, feel the Holy Spirit."

Lane laughs before hanging up the phone. Rory tosses her cell phone by her pillow and looks over at the poetry book again. She flips to where she'd left off, and looks at the poem one more time.

" _The hours aren't latching on  
or hooking up. At all.  
There's isn't any nap  
to catch.  
They're sliding around  
in disguise  
like gods. It's two  
in the afternoon. It's four.  
You can't take these hours  
apart and repair them.  
Nothing's wrong  
with them.  
They aren't broken."_

Rory bites her bottom lip and closes the book with finality. She wasn't going to lose the rest of her night over this. She wasn't going to waste more hours on this, on him. She was going to listen to Lane, go for a walk, and clear her head; enjoy the sunset in person, rather than through the rays passing through her window.

And she wasn't going to think about Jess. Or Dean, or anyone else. No, Rory was going to go to the bridge, _her_ bridge (before Jess had claimed it for himself,) and just enjoy the quiet.

 _Yep. Just me, myself, and I_.

xx

 **Please review :) I worked really hard on this chapter and I think it turned out well.**

 **A note that the next chapter won't be out in the next two weeks at least because I have to finish editing my friend's novel, and your girl here needs to HAUL ASS on that. Google Docs deleted twenty? chapters worth, so I'm drastically behind.  
**

 **BUT - this story wasn't prioritized for an updated chapter this month, so reviews would motivate me to bump it up ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Thank you all for your love and patience. Your reviews _did_ push updating this ahead of _**You Can't Protest Everything**_ , which i thought was an impossible feat, so kudos! Incase you actually care about my life: no, I did **not** meet my editing deadline, but thankfully I have until May now. I now have a huge event, finals, field termination, graduation, and a convention coming up... sooo that's gonna be my life.

Enter vulnerable/hot and cold Rory and Jess :) Hope you like them.

N: Updated 10:05pm, a paragraph was missing at the end.

* * *

Rory walks slowly to the bridge, pulling her jacket more tightly around her. It smells like winter, she decides, kicking a stray pebble. The air smells like a mixture between rain and snow, and she's not sure which she would prefer to fall from the sky.

 _I guess I'll get sick if it rains in December_ , Rory thinks to herself, sighing. As she gets closer to the bridge, a knot begins to form in her stomach, her body responding before her brain can catch up. Something changes in the atmosphere, one of those weird incidents that she can't explain (and hasn't had to try to explain in weeks), and before she sees him, Rory already knows.

She stops twenty feet or so from the bridge, _her_ bridge. He's there, one leg dangling off the wood, leaning back on his right arm as he reads, a beautiful silhouette against the dark drop of the trees. The colors of the sunset dance across his face and the only word that comes to Rory's mind is _perfect_. She vaguely smells cigarettes. Remembering a rare conversation in which Jess revealed his motives for the nasty habit, Rory recognizes that he has been stress-smoking.

 _Good. I'm glad he's stressed out_ , she chomps bitterly, crossing her arms. A pang of guilt shoots through her and she frowns; she was mad, sure, but she didn't actually _want_ Jess to be suffering… right? Maybe she would just turn around and leave before he noticed her.

But wait. It was her bridge. _Her_ bridge! She didn't want to feel bad for Jess. She didn't want to even think about Jess. She had come out here to get _away_ from him! He could go find another hole to crawl in and infest with cancerous smoke.

 _My bridge. My bridge,_ Rory tells herself over and over as she holds her head up high and stalks closer.

She stops a few feet before him and watches. Rory is aware that he recognizes her presence in the way his body shifts, but he doesn't move otherwise. Rory furrows her eyebrows and sets her jaw, plopping herself down on the opposite side of the bridge, facing away from Jess.

Rory nods to herself and leans back on her hands, dangling her legs over the edge. She can still see the sunset from here, even if it is significantly stunted. It's unnerving being near him, and it takes so much energy not to glare at the back of his head. It infuriates her that he isn't acknowledging her; but then, a part of her hopes he never will. Perhaps if she wishes hard enough, she really _can_ make him disappear.

It would solve her relationship problems, anyway.

"I'm not leaving," comes his voice from behind her. Rory freezes, wondering if Jess can somehow read her thoughts. She recovers quickly.

"I barely noticed you were there," she lies coolly, setting her eyes on the lake. If only that really were the case.

 _Just leave. This won't end well._

 _No. My bridge. My town. I stay if I want to_.

"Huh," comes his casual response.

The lack of concern in his voice makes her blood boil. Here she was, bent out of shape at even the sight of him, and he didn't seem phased by her presence or iciness. She sets her jaw in a hard line and snaps her head to glare at the back of his dark curls.

But she finds his eyes studying her instead. Rory flushes and hopes that it's dark enough to hide it. _Probably not_ , she thinks in embarrassment. _The whole stupid sun is shining in my face._

"What?" She bites out, more harshly than she'd intended. Jess studies her for a moment, scanning her face. She knows the harshness isn't reaching her features, and she's both grateful for this and annoyed. Jess appears to decide something in his head, shrugs in response to her question, and then chews on his lip.

Rory looks at him curiously. She flinches—she doesn't know why—as she watches him close his book and place it on the bridge. Jess swings his leg onto the bridge and expertly maneuvers himself to face her, crossing his legs smoothly.

Rory raises an eyebrow and Jess returns it with a raised eyebrow of his own.

Jess clears his throat. Rory is surprised. She hadn't expected Jess to be the one to break any of these silences. Unwillingly, she leans forward, waiting.

"Do you…" he trails off, inhaling sharply.

Rory waits for a few seconds before she grows impatient. She lets out a deliberate huff of air and purses her lips.

"Do I _what_ , Jess?"

"You know, it'd do you well to have some patience once in awhile," Jess points out, his voice on edge. Rory glares but she heard the sharpness of his voice, heard the frustration. She bites the inside of her lip to prevent herself from saying anything to make things worse. _Mom would be proud of me_.

"I was trying… to say…" Jess trails off again and this time, it's he who huffs with impatience at himself.

"Doyouwanttotalkaboutthings?" He blurts out, exasperated.

Rory blinks back a look of shock. _He really just said that, right?_

"Excuse me?" Rory hears herself ask, dumbfounded. "Did you say you want to talk?"

"I asked if _you_ wanted to talk," Jess corrects lamely, looking to the side. He seems embarrassed, and something about this melts some of Rory's anger away. It was nice to see some emotion from the guy that wasn't simply teenage angst or sporadic chivalry.

"Wow."

Rory watches Jess curiously as she thinks. This conversation could go a lot of ways. This could be the beginning of laying the foundation for something more between them. Or, alternatively, this could be the end of everything. What if talking meant he told her that he is too hurt by her to give her a chance? What if it meant he is so hurt that he doesn't even want to give being _friends_ a chance? Rory shivers and pulls her jacket closer.

She slowly scoots over to his side of the bridge, watching as his body turned to match hers. Rory folds her hands on her lap and waits.

XXX

After a few long moments, Jess noticeably fidgets. He knows it's noticeable and he doesn't really care. He'd made the decision to be vulnerable if he ever saw Rory again in the right setting, and this was it.

He didn't really _know_ she would come to the bridge tonight; after all, he didn't expect anything out of her nowadays. He had let Luke's words sink in, he'd read something that made sense, and he had just gotten up. It was his place to clear his head and think.

But he _had_ hoped in some weird way that as he had read and been moved to his feet, that Rory would be too, wherever she was, and that her feet would lead her to the bridge. He did want to give her the opportunity to explain herself, get some kind of closure. It was strange the way he got these feelings to go places where Rory would eventually manifest.

"Well?" He asks finally, unable to conceal his agitation any longer. He was anxious and he needed her to make a move, any move.

"I just don't know what to say," she admits, swallowing down a lump in her throat. Jess watches her shiver again and pulls off the scarf around his neck, instinctively leaning over to wrap it around hers.

Rory inhales sharply as Jess's fingertips graze her neck. The heat and electricity that Jess didn't know he missed shoots through his fingers like fire, anchoring him. Realizing how close he is to her face and how he actually had zero say in anything that just happened, Jess freezes, staring at Rory's nose instead of her eyes. Why had draping his scarf around her neck seemed like a good idea in his subconscious? What was it about this stupid girl that drew him in?

 _Fuck_.

"You were shivering," Jess states matter-of-factly, mentally kicking himself. He retracts his hands and shoves them deeply into his hoodie pocket, gripping the material tightly. _You're acting like an idiot, Mariano_.

Rory nods and Jess looks up, making eye contact again. There's something different in the way she's looking at him, and somewhere deep inside, Jess feels like he recognizes it. Her eyes are glowing in the light of the fading sun and they're softer, more loving, more… desperate? Was that the word?

"We…" Her voice makes him jump after the few seconds of intense staring.

"We should talk," she breathes out, crossing her arms snugly against her chest.

"Okay," Jess nods, his breath even. This was a start. She would talk, he would listen, and if it came up, he would tell her how he felt.

He looks over at the water, watching it shift back and forth. He shifts his body and leans back, putting some distance in between them. His heart is finally coming down from the palpitations at touching her skin again, and he wants to give himself some distance.

"Jess?"

He looks over at her.

"Why are you putting distance between us?" She asks, almost with an amused look on her face.

His unbothered mask cracks as he briefly wonders whether Rory can read his mind. He shakes it off and mulls over the best answer in his head.

 _Because my heart is trying to explode? Because I hate the way I feel around you? Because I need to make sure I keep my fucking grip? Because you look like you want me to kiss you?_

None seem like something that should ever come out of his mouth, so he shrugs instead.

"Are you afraid to be around me?" She asks, a sad look in her eyes.

 _Yes, because you don't care about the damage you do._

" _You_ sat away from _me_ when you first came," he deflects, raising an eyebrow defiantly.

"That doesn't answer my question. Are you?"

Jess clenches his jaw and looks away again. He could just tell her the truth… but in what universe was Jess Mariano this sap? This guy who could be emotionally crushed and manipulated by a pair of blue eyes? He didn't want to be this person.

Jess sighs audibly, dragging out his breath. He settles for a half truth.

"I don't know."

Rory looks hurt. Part of Jess wants to erase the look on her face, and the other part of him wants it to stay there. Just because Luke made sense for once in his life didn't mitigate the hurt that Jess felt at Rory's hot-and-cold bullshit. He was still second to Dean, still second to everyone else it seemed.

"Can you come closer?"

Jess shakes his head, certain he's heard Rory wrong.

"What?" He asks, his voice surprisingly steady.

"Can you come closer?" She asks again, sounding more confident and clear than she had the previous time.

 _What is her game? What's she playing at?_

"Why, Rory?" Jess asks, sighing. The memories of Rory burying herself into his chest flash before his eyes. They're followed by Dean's face, and the memories feel tainted, makes him angry. "So you can tap in and then tap out because you remember Dean exists? No thanks. We can talk from where I am."

"God, you can be such a jerk!" Rory snaps, raking her fingers roughly through her hair. "You said you wanted to talk, and if all you're gonna do is say cruel things, then we have nothing to talk about!"

"Sorry that you can't control me," Jess growls, jerking his body forward so that he's closer to her. He juts his finger down, emphasizing when he speaks. "I'm not gonna sugar coat for you just because it hurts your feelings, Rory. And you can't stomp your foot and get pissed whenever I say something you don't like!"

"I don't want to control you, Jess!" Rory shouts, throwing her arms up. "I love that you're unpredictable; I just hate that you put up this stupid wall because you're afraid!"

They inhale deep breaths together, locking their eyes in a glare. He isn't sure how he feels about the way the conversation is going, but Rory doesn't appear to be feeling any better about it. His anger begins to shift and soften, and something comes to his mind to cut the tension.

"You 'love' that I'm unpredictable?" Jess asks, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Rory rolls her eyes and roughly slaps her hands against the wood, propping herself up to look at him in disbelief.

"Of all things I said, _that's_ what you wanna focus on?"

"Well, you said you _love_ something about me, which seems to be in stark contrast to everything else you've said and done lately," Jess points out, challenging her, "so yes, I'm choosing to focus on that."

Rory looks off to the side, out at the water like he had just done. Jess watches her watching the water and wonders what she's thinking, what her next move is. She bites her lip, making her look absolutely kissable, and he makes himself look away. This hot and cold he was experiencing - wanting to hurt her, wanting to love her - was getting exhausting. Something had to give.

"I love so much about you," Rory finally says to the water. Jess's heartbeat picks up, and he reluctantly finds himself holding his breath, waiting for her to continue. It annoys him, because he doesn't want to feel anything about her compliment and all he wants is to keep calling her out on her crap. _Somebody_ had to. But he's compelled to listen and he swallows his pride along with a lump in his throat.

"I've been trying to tell you that," she continues. He watches her pick at a splinter in the wood absently. "The other day at Luke's, when I left—"

"When you _bolted_ —"

"Fine. When I _bolted_ , I had planned to go in there and talk to you about….everything. You, me, Dean, my behavior. But I saw you attached to _her_ and it felt like the whole world should just swallow me. It sucked."

Jess raises an eyebrow.

"And you don't think it _sucked_ to see you with Dean all of the time?" Jess asks, trying his best not to sound bitter.

"I know," Rory says quietly, sighing. Rory looks at him, her eyes big and sparkling. _Is she… crying?_

"I've been treating you like crap. I didn't think I was. I wasn't trying to. I didn't mean to make you feel lead on or unimportant to me or anything else, Jess, I really didn't. I just can't control what I do when I'm around you."

Rory is bordering hysteria now, and he can't help but find it adorable and sad. He feels the need to stop it, even if it's everything he wants to hear.

"Rory," Jess intones, his voice hoarse.

"No, Jess," she continues. The tears are spilling freely now. "I'm so sorry. You have every right to be mad at me. I keep throwing myself at you like a dart, and I know that's not how life works. But I see you and it's just so different than when I'm with Dean. I can't help but be drawn into you. And now that I know I won't see you anymore, it just makes it that much worse."

Jess really doesn't know what to do with her or her rambles. His instinct is to comfort her, to try to make her smile again, but the bitter reality that she isn't his to comfort creeps back up. Her sweet words roll off of him and fall to the ground, like sugar that lumps at the bottom of a coffee cup. He takes a second, shakes his head, and lets himself process what she's saying, trying to find comfort in any of it.

What _is_ she saying, anyway? Apologizing? Definitely. Owning up to what she's been doing? Surprisingly, yes. Acknowledging that she wants to be around him? Pretty sure he heard that, too.

She stops and sucks in her lip, watching him. Jess clears his throat, runs his hand through his hair, and slowly scoots closer to her until their knees are almost touching.

"Okay," he says, nodding. She looks at him in confusion, her eyes darting across his face, trying to read him. For once, Jess isn't concerned with trying to conceal what's there; he just wants to have a conversation.

 _Start small_.

"Why won't you see me anymore?"

"Ms… Ms. Leon dismissed me."

"Oh." _Saw that one coming._

"Yeah."

"Are you moving?"

"What?"

"Are. You. Moving?" Jess asks slowly, enunciating his words. Rory glares.

"No."

"Okay, so we will see each other."

"Dean doesn't want us talking anymore."

A small chuckle sounds somewhere in the back of Jess's throat. Of course prince Dean didn't want the peasant to speak to his princess.

"What did you say to him?"

"What?"

"When he told you that you couldn't talk to me. What did you say?"

XXX

Rory feels the panic rising in her at his question. She couldn't lie to Jess, but telling him the truth would just make it worse. As she looks at Jess, trying to find the right words, she sees a dark shadow falling over his eyes, and she knows she doesn't have to actually answer. Jess isn't stupid; he knows what Rory said. He chuckles darkly to himself, shakes his head, and moves to get up.

 _No. You can't leave. Not yet._

Rory shoots out her hand, gripping Jess's sleeve hard to prevent him from getting up.

"Let me explain," she asks quickly.

"What's there to explain? You agreed to never speak to me again."

"Jess, you were ignoring me. I thought you hated me. I didn't think you wanted to speak to me again anyway!"

"Rory, do you hear yourself?" He demands, ripping his arm away from her. "You just sat there and told me how much you miss being around me and in the next minute, admit to agreeing never to speak to me again! Maybe you do need to be with somebody brainless like Dean, because those of us who have even a quarter of an IQ know it's better to stay away from you."

His words sting like a slap. It wasn't fair of him to be acting this way, but Rory also knew deep down, he was entitled to all the hurt. She really was sending him mixed signals. She just didn't know how to make him understand.

"Jess, I know what this looks like. Don't you think I do? Don't you think I feel like an awful person for being caught in between two people, dragging you both along with me?" She yells, grabbing back onto his arm.

Jess's face stays hard, but the cloud in his eyes seems to disappear. The acknowledgement of her feelings, more clearly than she'd mentioned before, seem to register. Rory takes this as a positive and continues.

"Dean is safe," she admits, not breaking eye contact. "I understand Dean. I know what makes him happy or sad or angry, and I know how to de-escalate a situation with him. I know where we'll go, what we'll do, when he'll call. I don't know any of this about you, and it scares me."

"So Dean is safe and I'm not, and that's all there is to it, right?" Jess asks, looking down.

"You're not easy, Jess. I can't predict what you're going to say, or do, or where you'll show up. I make lists, you know? About everything. Like everything. Like one time in fifth grade I didn't know whether I should do cereal or oatmeal, and I made a pro-con list about it. I can make a pro-con list about Dean. You, I can't."

"Gee, thanks," Jess scoffs.

"You're being so difficult," Rory groans, dropping her hand from his jacket. "I'm trying to explain to you why I've been acting the way I've been acting. Which, by the way, you have not yet done."

"You really don't know why I've been acting the way I've been acting?" Jess growls, giving her an incredulous look. "I have to explain my motives to you?"

"It would help to hear you say it," Rory counters, furrowing her eyebrows. Jess shakes his head, looking back out at the water.

"Tell me why you've been doing what you're doing, Jess," Rory says deliberately, moving her head to try to catch his eyes.

"Why does it matter why it matters, Rory?" His voice sounds shaky.

"I need to know if you have stake in this. I need to know if I'm sitting here and pouring my heart out for a reason, other than to apologize for just being a crappy friend."

Rory sets her gaze on his and waits. She's called him out; she knows it and, judging by the panicked look on his face, he knows it too. She needed the conversation to have some kind of direction, some kind of purpose. If Jess didn't want her, fine; but she needed to know where she stood.

"And what happens if I don't?" Jess asks, challenging her. Rory swallows hard. He continues. "Do you just stay with the beanpole?"

"I don't think so," Rory answers, her tone of voice indicating a 'no' more than anything else.

It would suck to break up with Dean only to be rejected by Jess. But Rory knew it would suck more to continue to try in a relationship where she felt nothing. It wouldn't be fair to Dean or to herself. As much as it hurt her to think everything with Jess was for nothing, her mom and Lane and, hell even Jess, had been right for weeks. What she was doing to Dean wasn't okay, and maybe being alone would help her.

"No," Rory corrects herself, looking firmly at Jess. "I'm tired of hurting people."

Jess looks up at the sky, blows air out of his mouth, and looks at Rory.

"I…" he begins. He clears his throat, huffs, looks down, and looks back at Rory. "I have stake in it."

Rory looks down to hide a smile. She feels like Ren McCormack after getting dancing back in Bomont, ready to dance the night away. It may not have been much, but the acknowledgement that somewhere under the layers of mood and James Dean casualness, Jess _did_ have feelings for her… well, it was enough to set her over the moon.

"Okay," she says finally, looking back up at him, the smile gone from her face. "So where does this leave us?"

"You're the one with the boyfriend," he reminds her.

"You're the one with the girlfriend," Rory counters.

"She isn't my girlfriend," he deadpans. Rory studies his face, searching for meaning, and her heart sinks as it registers. _She's for physical stuff, just like I thought._

"Oh," Rory says dejectedly, tugging on the sleeves of her jacket. Jess reaches out and grabs her left hand, cupping it softly in his hands. Waves of fire shoot across her skin, up her arm and down her back. His touch is so warm in the cold, so sweet in the fading light of the sunset.

"No Rory," Jess shakes his head, seeing the hurt in her face. "What I mean is," he says, clearing his throat, "Shane doesn't mean anything to me. A girlfriend or boyfriend is somebody you care about."

"Then why be with her?" She asks, staring at their connected hands.

"You're with Dean," he says softly.

Rory looks up and finds Jess looking at her with one of the warmest looks she's ever seen on anybody ever. There's no mask, no wall being put up; his face is unguarded and his eyes are honest. Everything he isn't saying is written there, and Rory is quick to understand what he means. He isn't accusing her or pointing out her behavior; he's simply stating a truth. He's with Shane, in whatever way that means, because he can't have her. She vaguely wonders if this was part of his plan, making her jealous.

Rory nods to acknowledge her understanding. Jess nods back, seemingly satisfied that she's understood, and he lets go of her hands.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I have stake in this, too. A lot of it."

"More than you have for Dean?" Jess asks on baited breath. He won't look at her.

"More than I have for Dean," Rory agrees. Jess's eyes snap back on her, a question lingering in his gaze.

"I haven't spoken to Dean in days because all I could think about was you," she tells him honestly, taking his hands back in hers in a sudden urge of confidence. "Only you."

XXX

"So where does this leave us?" Jess asks as he laces his fingers in Rory's, repeating her words back to her. His heart feels like it's ready to burst. It feels too good to be true.

"I can talk to Dean tomorrow. What about Shane?"

"Don't worry about Shane," he tells her matter-of-factly, as if it's the silliest thing in the world for her to think Shane was a threat.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm afraid."

"Me too."

"As long as we're in it together," she says light heartedly, smiling. Jess cracks a smirk and rubs his thumb in absent circles on the side of Rory's thumb.

"You should go home," he offers. "You look cold."

"You could keep me warm," Rory says innocently. Jess chuckles at her boldness and lifts her hand up to his lips, gently pressing them against her skin. Goosebumps pop up like daisies along her arm, welcoming his presence.

"Not until we've dated for a few months," Jess teases, smirking. Rory flushes a deep pink.

"I _meant_ we could sit together and finish the sunset," Rory insists, yanking her hand away from him. She tucks her hands in her pockets and looks at him with a pout, and he can't help but find her adorable.

"Okay…" Jess trails off, looking uncertain.

"But?" Rory asks, catching the way his tone drifts off.

"But nothing else."

Rory looks at him, confused.

"I know you feel what I'm feeling," Jess explains of the way his heart is doing flip flops. Rory's cheeks redden further, and she nods. "I don't want that on my conscience."

Rory nods in understanding. She knows what he means. Jess sighs, running his hand anxiously through his hair. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and kiss her, knowing that she was finally ready for this. But as much as he hated Dean, Jess wouldn't be that guy. He was that guy once in New York, and he vowed never to be again. If he was to kiss Rory, it would be as his girlfriend; not anyone else's.

"Okay," Rory agrees, scooting closer.

She tucks her legs under her body and leans against him, turning to face the last of the sun before it yawned itself to sleep behind the horizon. Jess turns as well, letting the warmth of her body nestle into his side like a favourite blanket. He drapes an arm over her shoulder and they sit in silence together.

Remembering his book, Jess grabs it with his left hand. He finds his page and hands it to Rory.

XXX

Rory looks up at him curiously before grabbing the book. She looks at the cover first and smiles at his choice. Her eyebrows furrow as she wonders what on earth _Lord of the Flies_ might have to offer them in this moment. She flips it back over and looks for whatever it is he wants to show her.

A line is underlined:

" _They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate_."

Rory recognizes this as the comparison between Jack and Ralph, both who think their way is the best way.

Beside the text, in Jess's neatly scrawled handwriting, is a margin note. It appears as though he's using the line as a spring for his thought, and not entirely commenting on the piece at all.

 _What happens when we can no longer walk along in silence and must collide? Is that where the illusion of friendship fades and worlds crash apart? Or is it where the magic begins, where collaborative energy explodes into something better?_

Rory sits with the page for a moment, letting the rays warm her. Rory smiles, grateful that Jess has chosen to share this part of himself with her. It told her everything that he wasn't willing to say just yet; it spoke of his confusion, his thinking of her, his feelings. It told her that he was sure of himself long before she was, and something about this makes everything seem much less scary. She snuggles in closer to Jess's side, smiling as she feels him tighten his arm around her.

"I think it's where the magic begins," she concludes, closing the book with a soft thump.


	13. Chapter 13 - Epilogue

**AN: Betcha thought this was never coming, huh?**

* * *

Rory studies herself in the mirror, frowning as she turns to check herself out from different angles. She lets out a frustrated sigh, smooths out the invisible wrinkles in her dress, and shakes her head. Nope, not this one either. Rory glares at herself now, leaning against the dresser. This was her eighth outfit in the last hour and she was exhausted by her own neuroticism.

"Everything I own sucks!" A voice declares behind her. Rory looks distractedly back at Lorelai, who has plopped herself down dramatically on Rory's bed.

"You're telling me," Rory grumbles, tugging at the maroon dress. She clicks her tongue in dissatisfaction and returns to her closet, throwing open the doors haphazardly.

"When did we become 'those girls?'" Lorelai muses, eyeing her daughter miserably.

"I don't know, but it's really annoying," Rory concedes, sighing.

"There must be some rule that says you can't be this neurotic the night _before_ your date," Lorelai insists, thinking out loud. "It feels a bit much, even for us."

"I don't know why _you're_ freaking out," Rory interjects. "Luke's seen you in just about everything you own."

"That's the problem," Lorelai groans. "He's seen me in everything so there's nothing I have that will 'wow' him, you know? I'm not looking for the 'Oh hey Lorelai, you look nice,' I'm going for stuttering Luke that can't get a grip on himself."

Rory giggles but looks at her with skepticism. "Mom, please. Luke 'wows' at you in whatever you're wearing _before_ you've had your coffee. You're fine. I bet he's more nervous than you are."

"Yeah, well, you could be wearing a paper bag and Jess would still be drooling over you," Lorelai teases. Rory shoots her a disapproving look before turning back to her closet to hide the slight blush creeping up into her cheeks.

Looking behind Lorelai to see her clock, Rory groans and pushes some hangers to the right. Two hours in and she had yet to find something worth wearing for tomorrow's dinner. Rory sighs for the umpteenth time, turning around to face her mom. She sulks over to her bed and flops down next to Lorelai, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration.

"For what it's worth, I liked your last outfit."

"The green?"

"There was a green outfit? I meant the blue."

"The blue was three outfits ago," Rory whines.

"Hey, we're young. We're attractive," Lorelai tries from her position on the bed, pointing a finger triumphantly up at the ceiling. "It shouldn't be this hard to look good."

"Life is cruel," Rory agrees, furrowing her eyebrows.

Lorelai maneuvers herself so that she's on her side looking at Rory, smiling. Rory returns the smile and mirrors the movement, propping her head up with her palm.

"So are you excited? Nervous? Nauseous?" Lorelai asks in quick succession.

"Nauseous?" Rory inquires, raising an eyebrow, almost wondering if Lorelai knew something she didn't.

"Well, I don't know," Lorelai shrugs. "Sometimes the butterflies have a raging kegger in our stomachs before a big date."

"Ah, and so naturally the aftermath is wanting to hurl all over said date?" Rory says with a smile.

"Naturally," Lorelai quips, taking on a British accent. Rory shrugs, mulling it over.

How _did_ she feel?

Definitely excited This would be the first time she had seen Jess, like _really_ seen him, in three weeks. She missed their banter. With the end of the semester approaching, and the detonation that was her breakup with Dean, Jess had given her space to focus on her studies. They'd tried studying together once or twice, but Jess was only interested in distracting her, so they'd opted for stealing moments in the diner in between coffee and school, talking occasionally on the phone. It never felt like enough though; they hadn't even kissed yet, and Rory was craving to be closer to him.

Nervous? Perhaps. She didn't really know what it meant to have a second boyfriend, one you actually got butterflies around. The last few years had been very predictable and steady with Dean. Jess… Jess was uncharted territory. It scared her and excited her all at once.

"I think… weird," Rory decides. "It's so new, you know? We've barely been able to talk about it since that one night on the bridge."

"Aw, it doesn't have to be, hon," Lorelai says with a sympathetic smile. "You'll figure things out. Things are always weird after your first boyfriend."

"Yeah?" Rory asks softly, picking at her comforter.

"Aw, yeah," Lorelai assures her, squeezing her arm with a smile. Rory moves in for an awkward hug and they embrace, Lorelai dropping a quick kiss on her daughter's head before pulling away.

"So what are we gonna wear?" Rory inquires, looking desperately around her room for a sign of hope. A glimmer. Hell, she'd take a flicker at this point. Lorelai rolls herself off of the bed and walks over to her offspring's closet, pushing some things to the left and then back to the right. She pulls out a hunter green sweater and holds it in front of her, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"What if we're going about this all wrong?" She asks, petting the sweater. "I mean, who wears a dress in December these days? What about this and—"

"Ooh, my black jeans!" Rory exclaims, sitting up with a smile.

"And you can borrow my chunky black boots," Lorelai adds, grinning from ear to ear.

"And what if you wear the baby blue sweater—"

"And wear _my_ black jeans and _your_ over-the-knee boots? Geez, what are we, related or something?" Lorelai giggles, tossing the sweater in Rory's direction to head to her own closet.

Rory smiles and looks at the sweater, rubbing the soft fabric between her fingers. _Will this be nice enough, though? Will he think I look pretty?_

Rory holds the sweater up to her torso in her mirror, bunching her hair up in a mock messy bun. Lorelai's words from a few moments earlier play in her head. " _You could be wearing a paper bag and Jess would still be drooling over you_." Rory blushes slightly but smiles, hugging the sweater to her chest and dropping her hair in one swift motion.

She didn't think Jess would quite be _drooling_ over her, but she did think that maybe her mom was right. Jess wouldn't care what Rory's wearing, as long as she was there with him. She smiles again at the mirror before taking a look around her room. She sighs, losing count of how many dresses and cardigans are scattered around her feet.

"Being a girl sucks," she concludes before reaching down to put her clothes away.

* * *

Rory makes a note in her book and gently closes the cover, resting it on her nightstand. It was funny how she'd picked up on small habits from Jess over the last few months. She'd never quite been a margin writer; it had always felt sacrilegious to write in a book. But reading Jess's notes was one of her favourite things about their exchanges, and she had promised him she would note some thoughts in the book before letting him borrow it.

Rory takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, looking around her room. No longer a disaster zone, she notes the differences in her décor. The cornstarch she'd long kept out as a memorial of sorts to her first kiss with Dean was gone, as was the bracelet he had made her. Photos of the two of them were also gone from their old home, tucked carefully in the edge of her mirror. They were now all safely in her Dean box, nestled in the back of her closet. Nothing of Jess's had gone up yet, as they had yet to declare themselves dating. But there was a stack of worn paperbacks waiting for her to read. She smiles thinking about the neat little musings she knows are scrawled in the margins.

A lot had changed in the month following Rory's bridge encounter with Jess.

Rory had experienced her first break up, an ugly, snarling monster if she'd ever seen one. She was honest with Dean, telling him that she had developed feelings for Jess. Dean had been less than chill about things, not that she could blame him. He'd yelled, throwing scathing words of hurt and betrayal at her. All Rory could do was just take them in and let him be upset. Some of it hadn't been fair, but she knew she wasn't in a position to defend her behavior if she ever wanted to be friends again. She'd led him on, and at the very least emotionally cheated on him. It hadn't mattered at the time; she had been so confused and so torn. Somebody was bound to be a casualty of that.

And so she'd simply let Dean yell and dodged his questions about whether she was now dating Jess. He had yet to acknowledge Rory since that afternoon. It hurt to lose Dean completely, but Rory knew he needed space from her. After all, _she_ would need space from her given the circumstances. Rory sighs as she recalls the hurt on Dean's face; she could only hope that one day they might speak civilly again. While she didn't miss Dean as a boyfriend, she did miss him as a presence in her life, and losing him completely hurt.

She'd also gotten reassigned from Ms. Leon's group. Rory had been allowed one last visit to say goodbye and let the young men process her termination. When she'd opened the floor for any questions, everyone demanded to know the same thing that Dean had: was she dating Mariano? And if she was, could Phil or Sam or whoever be next in line once he'd blown it? Jess had clenched his jaw and remained quiet as Rory blushed and Ms. Leon dismissed the questions as inappropriate. She wasn't sure whose willpower had been stronger at the moment - hers, for remaining in the room and not bolting or Jess's, for remaining in his seat and not clobbering a guy or two.

Thankfully the rest of the group had gone smoothly, and thankfully Lorelai had agreed to get her that night. It had been her own protection from choosing to hang out with Jess rather than study for her test the next morning. At the end of group, Rory had said goodbye to the group, smiled apologetically at Jess, and hugged Ms. Leon. Rory was sad to leave but didn't blame Ms. Leon. She'd learned so much from watching the elder woman, and after a serious talk with Lorelai, Rory knew she could only hold herself responsible for the decision. Still, Rory missed the guys. She'd become quite fond of them and hearing how they'd moved away from destructive patterns. At least she didn't need to start her new group until the following January.

"Speaking of which," Rory remembers, grabbing the binder next to her bed. She pulls out her term paper and glances at her final assignment, reading over Ms. Gialli's comments, reminiscing about her day at school.

* * *

" _You got an A," Paris growls, snatching Rory's paper out of her hands._

" _What gives, Paris?" Rory retorts, grabbing her paper back._

" _You got a stupid A, Gilmore, pay attention!"_

" _So did you," Rory points out, pushing her final into her binder before shoving it in her bookbag. The bells rings and Rory stands, sighing with contentment. Winter break was almost here._

" _I got an A_ minus _," Paris hisses. "And_ I _finished_ my _assignment," she points out, shouldering her bag._ "You _got kicked out and you_ still _got an A."_

" _I didn't get kicked out, Paris," Rory grumbles, moving past her towards the door. That wasn't exactly true; she had gotten reassigned, which technically meant kicked out. But she wasn't going to give Paris the satisfaction._

" _You did," Paris insists. "You got kicked out and you still got an A and you got another boyfriend out of it, and all I got was a crappy A minus, a 'see you next semester Ms. Gellar,' and a rash from the bathroom."_

" _He's not my boyfriend," Rory defends, tugging the strap of her bookbag. "Well, he isn't," she replies indignantly at Paris's look of disbelief._

" _That group should've been mine," Paris continues, grumbling. Paris huffs and pushes past Rory._

" _You would have benefitted from it, that's for sure," Rory mutters, walking out of the classroom and to her locker. She looks behind her to make sure that Paris is out of sight and pulls her binder back out. She smiles as she looks over the comments. Ms. Gialli has notes of praise throughout the assignment, especially around her characterization of Jess._

* * *

Rory glances at the final comments written in neat red script at the end of the assignment.

' _Your notes from your case study read like poetry. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're quite taken with the young man ;-) Extraordinary work as always, Rory. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with next semester._ '

Rory smiles to herself, unsure if she should be bothered or not that her writing indicated she'd fallen for Jess. Rory scrunches up her face. Fallen? Had she fallen for Jess? That felt like such a strong word. Had she ever fallen for Dean? Maybe at first.

"That wouldn't be your final assignment about me, would it, Teach?"

Rory startles but recovers quickly with a bright smile at the sound of his voice. Rory looks expectantly at her window, where Jess has leaned in to prop himself against the pane. Just seeing his crooked smile sends the butterflies in her stomach into a rage. Maybe she had fallen for him, after all.

"It might be," she teases, holding the paper tightly to her covers before tossing it on the floor and scooting down her bed to be eye level with Jess. He adjusts his weight, laying his head in the palm of his hand.

"Huh," he says coyly, looking past her at the discarded essay. "D'ya do well?"

"I did okay," Rory says nonchalantly, shrugging.

"You got an A?" He asks knowingly, offering her a small smile. It comes off as more of a statement than a question, and Rory looks up at him, suddenly feeling self-conscious. She nods shyly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Jess smiles at her and really looks at Rory for the first time. She looked adorable.

Rory, however, feels even more self-conscious under the deep scrutiny and tugs at her shirt. _Why didn't I pick out better clothes?_ she scolds herself.

"Ducks, huh?" He asks, feigning serious inquiry. Rory's blush deepens as she eyes the bright pink and blue duckies patterned on her shirt and pants. Jess smiles and reaches for her hand with his free one, but Rory pulls away quickly, tucking her hand under her thigh.

"Oh!" She exclaims disapprovingly. "Your hands are cold."

Jess smirks sheepishly and shrugs, resting his hand on the windowpane again. "Well, I am outside in the frigid December air."

"And why are you outside in the frigid December air?" Rory asks, challenging him with a smile.

"I just wanted to see how your paper went," he offers noncommittally. He blows hot air into his hand, rubbing his fingers together.

"That's all, huh?" She presses, crossing her arms lightly against her chest. Jess raises his eyebrow. He didn't want to take the bait, but he really was freezing his ass off out there.

"And I might've wanted to see you, too," he concedes, choking on the sappiness of it all. Rory gleams triumphantly and tugs on his jacket. Jess eagerly takes the welcome and hoists himself into her room, expertly maneuvering his feet onto the windowpane and then down to her floor.

Like clockwork, the pressure in the room intensifies as the two sit across from each other, their knees bumping together gently. The space between them was minimal, maybe only millimeters wide. The two teenagers exchange an intense, almost embarrassed look at one another before looking away uncomfortably. Jess is the first to recover and he knocks Rory's knee with his own playfully.

"Missed me, huh?" Rory cooes, gaining her confidence again. Rory smiles at his look of disgust, returning the knee bump. Jess looks down to bite back a small smile but decides against it, instead sharing it with her.

"Maybe," he admits, pressing his back into her wall.

Some few months ago he'd had pride. Now, in the presence of this blue eyed girl in front of him, it dissipated. Jess was a good liar, but he found that with Rory, he didn't really want to lie. He had missed her; he'd finished his finals at Stars Hollow High with ease, and he'd all but driven himself and Luke crazy waiting for Rory to finish her semester at Chilton. The intermittent coffee moments and phone calls weren't enough for him. Hell, him grabbing her hand just a moment ago, sans this little physical vacuum that had just been created, had been the closest they'd been in weeks. He just wanted to be next to her.

 _You're getting soft, Mariano,_ he scolds himself. His heart's not really in it though, so he reaches back out. This time Rory smiles and offers her hand. She scoots herself gently backwards, pressing her back against her bed to give Jess space. She offers her other hand and uses it to create friction, rubbing his left hand quickly.

Jess smiles softly at the look of determination on Rory's face, trying to free him from the winter chill. He chuckles lightly.

"I think the rest of me could use some warming up," he flirts, smirking as she turns red. She pulls her hands away and tucks them into her sides protectively, crossing her arms over her chest. Jess watches as Rory recovers from his comment and stands up, leaning over her bed to her nightstand. Jess watches her bed shirt ride up, exposing the curve of her hip, and he swallows, averting his eyes. He shifts in his position on the floor; at least the December cold was good for something.

"Here," Rory says, handing him the book from her nightstand. She smiles at the look of confusion on his face before understanding settles in.

"You finished?" He asks, nodding his head at the novel in his hands.

"As much as it pained me, yes, I did," Rory nods, leaning back on the palms of her hands. "It was the worst marking up Betty Smith, but I really think you'll enjoy it."

"I'll make a rebel out of you yet, Gilmore," Jess jokes with a smirk.

 _I hope so_ , Rory's subconscious shoots off involuntarily. Rory's eyes widen at her own thought but she shrugs it off, ignoring the inquisitive look that Jess throws her way. The two sit in a comfortable silence as Jess flips through the book, glancing at passages she's underlined. Suddenly he glances over at the clock and closes _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_ with a thud, tucking it into his jacket.

"So I should probably go," Jess offers, nodding at the clock. "Let you get your beauty sleep."

Rory mocks offense and swats a hand at Jess, which he swiftly ducks.

"Mean! You don't think I'm pretty just like this?" she teases boldly, sweeping a hand over the length of her duck pajamas. Jess balks for a minute, unsure of what to say at first. This was a bolder Rory than he'd known a month ago, certainly, but this was a game he was better at than she was.

"I think you're gorgeous no matter what you wear," he says seriously, locking eyes with her. The familiar blush finds itself back onto Rory's cheeks and she finds herself leaning closer to him, resting her hands in her lap.

"Yeah?" She asks shyly, looking up at him through thick eye lashes. Jess nods without missing a beat, leaning in.

"Yeah."

Rory smiles. She frowns at the sight of Jess shivering and she looks back at the clock, sighing.

"You should probably go," she finally agrees. "The last thing we need is mom coming down here to find out what's going on. And you're cold."

"Sure don't need Lorelai coming down here," Jess agrees, frowning. Lorelai had certainly loosened up around Jess since Rory and Dean had broken up, but he wouldn't go so far as to say she liked him. He wasn't Mr. Perfect like Dean was, and he never would be. But Lorelai seemed to trust Rory, and what's more, seemed to trust him with Rory. Jess was in no position to meddle with her unexpected blessing.

Jess stands up, tugging his jacket down, and swings a leg over the windowsill. Rory shifts so that she's resting her weight on her heels, slightly more elevated than her previous position on her butt.

"So…" Rory trails off, chewing her lip.

"So…" Jess repeats, cocking his head curiously.

"I'll see you soon," she whispers, reaching out to squeeze his hand one last night.

Unable to fight the urge anymore, Jess tugs on Rory's hand. Her whole body responds and she effortlessly comes closer. He expertly shifts his weight, twisting toward her. He locks his heel under her windowsill and reaches out his other hand to run it through Rory's hair, tilting her head for just the right angle. He hears Rory sigh in contentment as he captures her lips with his, lacing his fingers with Rory's.

Rory makes a soft noise, sparks ignite behind his eyelids, and the two melt together in a delicious mix of static and yearning. Encouraged as Rory's hand lets go of his to gently tug at the back of his neck, Jess deepens the kiss, enjoying the softness of her mouth and the eagerness of her tongue.

After a good moment, Jess pulls away for air, leaning his forehead gingerly against Rory's. They're both breathing heavily with goofy grins on their faces.

"See you soon," he finally answers softly, offering her a rare smile. Rory smiles back, gently stroking his cheek with feathery fingers. He looks at her softly before throwing his other leg over the windowsill and landing softly on the ground.

"It looks like you've done this before, Mr. Mariano," Rory teases, gesturing at the now empty window.

Jess shrugs and smirks, and Rory feels the butterflies again. Something catches her eye and she cocks her head, reaching down for the small brown package on the floor where Jess once was. She stares at it a minute before holding it up for him to see, her eyes bright with realization.

"You got me a gift?" She asks.

"It's Christmas Eve," Jess points out simply, shrugging again. "Goodnight Rory."

And with that, he zips up his jacket and retreats in one swift motion. As Jess walks away, he turns around, walking backward to watch Rory. He smirks as he sees her turn the package over delicately, as if it were made of glass. He nods his head and disappears across her lawn, not one to really give gifts and definitely not to watch others open them. He hoped she got the reference, but he was sure she'd let him know later that night.

Until then, he would go home and think about how his damn toes tingled when she moaned into his mouth, pulling him closer to her. The feeling that lingered with him was something different than he'd ever experienced before. It felt warm, and light, and almost like he wanted to sing.

At the realization of this, Jess groans. He knows he's in over his head with Rory, but for once, he doesn't really care. There was no Dean to fight off, no Shane to worry about. It was just the two of them now, to determine whatever that meant for the future. They hadn't placed a label on things just yet but he was fine with that, having never really stuck it out long term with a girl before anyway. But if that kiss had been any indication, Jess wouldn't let himself be worried.

He wouldn't admit to anger management changing him, but he would allow himself to think about how Rory being in his life had radically altered things. Before where he'd been easily aggravated and frustrated, he now opted to take a breath. Sure he hadn't spoken to Liz yet, but he felt that as long as he had Rory as a calming force, he could tackle that with ease. For the first time in a long time, as lame as it felt to admit, Jess had hope in something. No, in some _one_. He'd never before let himself be so vulnerable with any one person, but somehow Rory seemed worth it. Nothing and no one could convince him that she wasn't worth setting his pride aside for.

Filling his head with images of crystal blue eyes, Jess lets the wave of happiness wash over him as he quietly heads into the diner and up the stairs to Luke's apartment. He needed to brace himself for tomorrow, when Luke would question the good mood he was undoubtedly going to be in. As he opens the door and shrugs off his jacket onto the floor, he takes a precursory glance in Luke's direction to make sure he's still asleep. A loud snarling snore from the darkness offers Jess the answer to his unspoken question. He tiptoes to his bed and lays on his back, stretching his hands behind his head.

Jess smiles in the dark to himself but immediately tries to quell his mood as the sound of Luke snoring reminds him of the impeding interrogation. He practices his signature scowl but fails miserably, the smile fighting its way back onto his lips as he replayed the night's events over in his head for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd left Rory's room.

* * *

Rory stares out across the yard as Jess's figures disappears. She sinks against her mattress, hugging the package to her chest. That kiss. God, did that kiss really happen? Rory giggles dreamily, touching her lips softly. They were still tingling from the heat of it all. Did that ever happen with Dean? No, Rory was certain it hadn't. She thinks for a moment about going to wake up Lorelai and tell her about it - after all, she'd been listening to Rory pine for weeks - but decided against it. Somehow, waking her mother up at two o'clock in the morning to tell her that Jess had dropped by and made out with her didn't seem like the best move. Lorelai was still coming around to Jess.

"Better not rock the boat," she says aloud.

Instead, she allows herself to take in the moment of finally kissing Jess, and looks back down at her lap at the carefully wrapped package. Her curiosity gets the better of her and for a moment she abandons the thoughts of Jess's lips, allowing her giddiness to transfer into the fact that Jess had gotten her a gift. Tough, moody Jess, who had expressed nothing but disdain for the holiday in previous weeks, had bought her a present.

Rory carefully rips off the paper and stares at the book in her hand. Pride and Prejudice is printed delicately on the worn paperback. _Really?_ She thinks to herself, flipping open the cover. _He got me Jane Austen?_

She wasn't surprised that it was a book, given that most of their conversations were about literature. It was more so this particular book that was throwing her off. Inside the front cover by the title page, Rory sees a note from Jess. She shifts to get more comfortable, bringing the book up to her face.

 _Rory –_

 _I would have gotten you Hemingway, but this felt like a better fit. I'll never say I'm your Mr. Darcy, but I'd like to think you got something good out of therapy other than an A on your paper (which I know you got. You're too brilliant to have gotten anything less). I know that I did._

 _Jess._

Rory pulls the book away, grinning like an idiot. She thinks back to the very beginning of group, when a certain dark haired, brown eyed boy dropped a Pride and Prejudice reference to defend her against the lecherous remarks of another guy.

She didn't know it at the time, but looking at the book now, Rory realizes that that was the beginning of things. That was the pivotal moment, where they each went from a random person to a person of interest.

Rory considers whether she's always somehow known that was when it started for her. _I never really thought about it_ , she admits honestly to herself. She'd been too busy denying her feelings all those months.

Not Jess, though. Leave it to him to be the closet romantic, letting her in on the moment his feelings for her began. Aside from the Shane debacle, Rory notes, Jess had always been relatively transparent. No denial, no frills, just... Jess.

Rory's eyes fill with small tears as she realizes that Jess - dark, serious, walled-up Jess - had always been the more vulnerable one. Sure, she'd opened up on the bridge, but Jess had truly orchestrated that. Thinking about it all, all the nervousness she'd felt earlier about having a second boyfriend and the unpredictability of Jess knew it would get messy at times; they were eighteen. The unexplored tension between them alone was enough to make her head spin.

But at the end of it all, Jess found ways to communicate where he saw them going. So even if she didn't know, he did, and she knew she could trust him.

Rory smiles, rereading Jess's words. _'I'd like to think you got something good out of therapy… I know I did._ ' Rory nods, closes the book, and hugs it to her chest.

 _I got more out of it than you did, Jess. I promise._

Rory sighs to herself happily as the waves of excitement, uncertainty, and expectation for the future wash over her.

 **End.**

* * *

 **AN: It's finally here! I hope it meets all of your expectations. A special thank you to my beta, who has believed in my ability to overcome my writer's block for the last eight months, and to _chelsbaby_ who made a small suggestion that unlocked how I wanted this to play out. It's been so fun, and I love this story and this Rory/Jess so much. I don't know if a sequel is in store, but for now, this'll have to do. I even threw in a small Luke/Lorelai bit for those of you who'd been asking. Please review, it would mean the world. x**


	14. Update

There may or may not be a sequel up now on my page. Just saying. Love you all!

\- E


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